The Leigh man has been jailed for more than nine years for his role in a string of armed robberies in and around Wigan.

A Leigh man has been jailed for nine years and three months for his role in a trio of armed robberies which left customers and staff fearing for their lives.

Dylan Rawlinson pleaded guilty to three armed robberies between Thursday 19 November 2020 and Tuesday 29 June 2021

Rawlinson attended each robbery with a number of weapons, from a wooden pole to a sledgehammer.

The first of these took place at McColls Convenience Store in Hindley on Thursday 19 November 2020, just seconds after the store opened for the day.

Armed with a sledgehammer and a wooden pole, Rawlinson – along with two other men – forced a member of staff to open the safe, while raiding the houses and cigarettes.

Rawlinson struck again on the morning of Sunday, December 6, 2020, at the One Stop shop on Chestnut Avenue in Leigh. Witnesses described three men entering the store, hiding their identities behind balaclava and holding a sledgehammer and a wooden-handled hatchet.

Unable to break the safe as it was on a timed lock, the shop’s houses and cigarette display were targeted, before one of the witnesses was attacked with an axe. Rawlinson, along with the other two men (not believed to be the same in the previous robbery), made their escape just six minutes later.

Rawlinson’s fall occurred during an armed robbery at the Co-op on Haigh Road, Aspull, at approximately 8.39pm on Tuesday 29 June 2021. Witnesses described three men parking their vehicle in the store’s car park before entering and to force a member of staff to open the safe.

Armed with a sledgehammer and a crowbar, they also removed the cigarettes from behind the counter and forced their way into the boxes.

Police recovered the getaway vehicle from Abbey Lane in Leigh shortly after the robbery and chased the men on foot through nearby moorland. Rawlinson was caught trying to escape over a fence and was arrested on suspicion of robbery. And