Two people sentenced after staging armed robbery in Congleton

Two people have been sentenced after staging an armed robbery at a retail store in Congleton.

Patricia Marlborough and Kristian Bramah were both sentenced at Chester Crown Court on Wednesday 10 September.

Marlborough, was sentenced to two years in prison suspended for two years, after pleading guilty to conspiracy to steal, committing a series of acts with intent to pervert the court of justice and fraud by false representation.

The 28-year-old, of Hough Lane, Hyde, was also ordered to complete 250 hours unpaid work and 25 days rehabilitation order.

Bramah, was sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years after he admitted conspiracy to steal and possession of a knife in a public place.

The 29-year-old, of Plane Court, Churchill Way, Salford, has also been ordered to complete a 25 days rehabilitation order.

The court heard how on Monday 16 August 2021, officers from Cheshire Police were called to reports of a knife point robbery at the Holland and Barratt store on High Street, Congleton.

Marlborough reported that she had been working alone in the shop, when an unknown man entered the store and threatened her with a knife.

She said that the offender had forced her to open the safe and then tied her hands with cable ties, before fleeing the store with £7879.69 in cash.

An investigation was launched into the incident, and while enquiries were ongoing Marlborough submitted a claim for compensation to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority.

However, in July 2022 police received information that Bramah was responsible for the robbery and that he and Marlborough had been in a relationship at the time of the robbery.

Following the reports, DNA analysis was undertaken on the cable ties and came back with a partial match for Bramah, ANPR and mobile phone analysis also placed him at in the area around the time of the incident.

Detectives also discovered that Marlborough and Bramah had been in contact with each other before and after the incident.

After recovering a catalogue of evidence, the pair were arrested in relation to the incident.

During questioning they both denied that they had staged the incident. However, upon appearing in court they pleaded guilty to a number of offences.

Detective Constable Sarah Sayer, of Macclesfield Local Policing Unit, said:

“Marlborough and Bramah carefully planned the robbery with the intent of making as much money as possible.

“Not only did they steal almost £8,000 from the store, but Marlborough even had the audacity to claim compensation following the incident.

“Thankfully, we were able to uncover their web of lies before she was unable to gain any further cash.

“However, their selfish actions resulted in the loss of a significant amount of valuable police time and resources, which could have been better spent looking after real victims. “