‘ROBBERS SPRAYED AMMONIA’
A pair of masked robbers from Sunderland sprayed ammonia into the eyes of a shop manager before snatching his £5,000 takings in an ambush, a court has heard.
Victim Neil Warner was temporarily blinded and suffered serious eye injuries after being attacked as he walked a few hundred yards from the Costcutters shop, which he managed in Dawlish, Devon, to a Post Office.
He was attacked by two men, one wearing a balaclava and the other with a scarf over his face, after they had lain in wait for him on his route.
The two men allegedly fled on foot through back streets and gardens before getting a friend to give them a lift to Torquay via back lanes, where they discarded incriminating pieces of clothing.
One attacker, Rikky Ward, has admitted rob- bery but a second man, Paul Rowntree, denies he was involved, Exeter Crown Court was told.
They were allegedly seen on CCTV hanging around the Costcutter shop in Queen Street, Dawlish, before the attack on the afternoon of Monday, January 30, this year.
The CCTV showed two men wearing identical clothing to those in the footage hanging around The Strand, apparently waiting for 58-year-old Mr Warner to walk to the Post Office with the Costcutters takings.
Ward, 28, of Chatham Road, Hylton Castle, Sunderland, has admitted robbery and causing grievous bodily harm with intent.
Rowntree, 37, of Oswald Street, Millfield, Sunderland, but who was staying at Exeter Road, Dawlish, denies both charges.
Ross Morton, 29, of Gatehouse Close, Dawlish, denies assisting an offender by driving the two men to Torquay after the raid.
Mary McCarthy, prosecuting, said Mr Warner was carrying £5,129.90 to the Post Office on the Strand in an envelope inside a Costcutters carrier bag.
He was attacked within feet of the Post Office by Ward, who wore a balaclava and came out of a side alley armed with the ammonia bottle, and Rowntree, who ran across the road and picked up the bag.
She said both men ran up the road and away from the area and were picked up by Morton.
Miss McCarthy said Mr Warner suffered a serious injury from the ammonia.
She said: “The effect of the liquid was to incapacitate him immediately and cause him intense pain.
“The liquid literally burns into soft tissue and caused very severe damage to his eye.” The trial continues
“The effect of the liquid was to incapacitate him” PROSECUTOR