Robber jailed after Fareham frenzy of raiding shops, assaulting staff and threatening them with whisky bottle

Ben Sharpe, 22, committed a spree of offences in Fareham on September 15. He pushed over a shop worker at Spar, in Arundel Drive, just after 7pm – trying to snatch the till.

Sharpe, of no fixed abode, ran off with a bottle of Jack Daniels whisky and some pink gin. He entered an ESSO garage an hour later on Gosport Road.

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The thug threatened an employee while wielding the whisky bottle, demanding they hand him cash from the till. Sharpe then grabbed them and attempted to open the cash machine himself – leaving empty handed.

Sharpe continued his frenzy at One Stop in Gosport Road. He demanded cash and cigarettes from an employee while holding the bottle, eventually stealing some Kopperburg cider.

Police detained him 10 minutes later. Sharpe was charged with attempted robbery, two counts of robbery and possession of cannabis.

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Following the arrest, Sharpe was recalled to prison to serve the remainder of a five-year sentence given on April 1, 2020, for a shop robbery in Romsey. He was sentenced to 32 months in prison at Winchester Crown Court last Friday. He pleaded guilty at a hearing on October 17.

Detective constable Ellie Light said: ‘This is a positive result following an investigation into multiple robberies in local shops.

‘During this, members of the public were threatened and physically assaulted. These victims were targeted whilst at work and going about their day to day lives. We commend these victims for coming forward and assisting the police in this investigation.’