FOUR men have been jailed for 40 years for their parts in a bungled armed robbery at a Cambridgeshire business.

Lee Gutteridge, 30 of Tollgate Road, London; Darren Lafferty, 38, of Shire Road, Corby; Douglas Wilson, 50, of Greenhill Rise, Corby, and Daniel Crabb, 30, 0f Ladysmith Road, London, were each jailed for 10 years at Peterborough Crown Court yesterday.

They had denied conspiracy to rob electrical firm GPSK, in Peterborough’s Papyrus Road, Werrington, on June 2 last year, but were found guilty on October 13.

The trial had heard how masked men broke into the premises armed with an axe, crowbars and a sledgehammer.

They threatened and tied up members of staff but the raid went wrong when they were seen by someone nearby and some staff managed to break free and chase the robbers off.

The offenders could not find the goods they were after but escaped with a safe containing �3,000.

Det Chief Insp Jon Hutchinson said: “I welcome the sentences handed out as they reflect the severity of the crime and the violence used.

“These men are dangerous and now they will have plenty of time behind bars to consider their actions.

“I would also like praise the victims who were involved in what must have been a terrifying incident that day. They were incredibly brave and their actions meant the robbers were not successful and had to flee the scene.”