A ROBBER who was part of an armed gang, which escaped with £32,000 in cash from a village petrol station, will serve at least four years in jail. A security guard was stabbed four times in the leg during the raid at Fenstanton s Shell Garage last Septembe

A ROBBER who was part of an armed gang, which escaped with £32,000 in cash from a village petrol station, will serve at least four years in jail.

A security guard was stabbed four times in the leg during the raid at Fenstanton's Shell Garage last September. Robber Lee Parry was traced after his balaclava was pulled off and DNA matches led to his arrest.

Along with two other men who have not been caught, Parry, armed with an imitation handgun, targeted the filling station as three Securicor guards loaded a cash machine into their van.

The 32-year-old faced a life sentence at Peterborough Crown Court last Friday, as it was his third similar offence. However, Judge Nicholas Coleman said the crime did not warrant the life term, although he considered Parry to pose a significant risk to the public through further offending.

A parole board will be able to consider his release only after he serves four years and, only then, if he is no longer deemed a risk to the public. Parry will remain on licence from prison for life, unless revoked by the Secretary of State.

The court heard how the gang of three were waiting for the arrival of the Securicor van at the garage around 9pm on September 20.

Prosecutor Craig McDougall told how one guard was approached by a masked man,

with what appeared to be gun. He obeyed orders to get down on the ground, while two more robbers confronted 61-year-old Brian Dimock, inside the building.

But Mr Dimock fought back and during the struggle removed Parry's balaclava. The mask was later found on the floor, along with the gun which was in pieces.

After the men fled with two cash trays containing £32,000 in £10 and £20 notes, one of the guards was found on the ground bleeding from the left leg. Mr McDougall said there was no evidence who had used the knife.

The robbers' stolen car and the cash trays were later discovered dumped nearby.

Described as the "wheelman" in the raid, Parry, of Smithfield Road, Liverpool, admitted two robbery charges and possessing an imitation firearm. He was on licence from prison when the offences took place and had a criminal record dating from the age of 10.

The court heard it was the third time that Parry had been the only member of a gang of three to be caught by police. He was jailed previously for the attempted robbery of a jewellery store in 1995 and for aggravated burglary in 2001 when pub staff were tied up during a raid.

Arthur Gibson, for Parry, said the father-of-two was not one of the "prime movers" in the offence but had gone "too far down the road to back out".

Judge Coleman commended Mr Dimock for his conduct in fending off his attacker in a "very difficult situation", awarding him £350.