A robber who carried out a series of gunpoint raids at betting shops was finally caught when a brave customer struck him with a chair and then sat on him till police arrived. Leeds Crown Court heard yesterday Azar Sulman had already targeted the William Hill shop in Kirkstall Road, Leeds, once, and the Hyde Park Road branch on two previous occasions before he returned there again on January 28.
But this time when he brandished a pistol at terrified staff the court heard the raider met his match in 38-year-old Martin Richardson. After checking outside that the robber did not have any accomplices Mr Richardson closed the door to keep him inside and then struck him in the face with a chair.
Michael Smith, prosecuting, said when that did not appear to have any effect on Sulman, Mr Richardson struck him again. This time he went down and the customer grabbed his wrist forcing him to drop the weapon, kicking it out of reach before sitting on him until help arrived.
The gun turned out to be an air pistol but Mr Richardson told police he felt he had to act: "I was scared, I couldn't be certain whether the gun was real or not, I thought the male might shoot me anyway for getting in his way." Sentencing Sulman to six years in a young offender institution, Judge Scott Wolstenholme paid tribute to Mr Richardson's bravery and awarded him £250 from public funds.
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