Detectives say it is thanks to vital evidence passed onto them by Longridge residents from the days leading up to the robbery that vital clues were provided and the men are now behind bars.
At Bolton Crown Court on Monday, 22-year-old Michael Lee Parr, of Naden Walk, Whitefield, Manchester who had pleaded guilty to the January 16 Halifax robbery and also to robberies at a jewellers in Clitheroe last December and Southport last November, as well as a cash-in-transit Post Office robbery in Bury, a robbery in Merseyside and a burglary in Greater Manchester, was sentenced to nine-and-a-half years.
David Holyoak, 33, of no fixed address, also pleaded guilty to the Halifax and Bury cash-in-transit robberies and was sentenced to three-and-a-half years.
DC Tracey McMurdo said: "I would like to say thank you to all the people of Longridge who came forward and even though what they said individually might not have meant a lot to them at the time, it all added up to show a clear picture of what actually happened and that supported the other evidence we obtained.
"In an area such as Longridge it is relatively rare that this type of high level violent offence occurs and it is satisfying that we have stopped such people travelling to Lancashire to commit such crimes that affect our communities."
The man who led the investigation into the Longridge Halifax armed robbery, has spoken of his delight that Parr and Hollyoak are now serving lengthy prison sentences, saying they were "no longer free to rob and terrify innocent people".
Accrington-based DI Steve Dowson recalled the day the robbers, dressed in black, wearing balaclavas and wielding sledgehammers and a manhole cover, smashed the protective screen and jumped over the counter at the Halifax, shouting and screaming – terrifying the female cashier and another Halifax employee, who had been talking to an elderly lady in the rear of the premises – before stealing cash from the tills.
"The robbers were really violent at this time and it had a traumatic effect on the cashier. She is still shaken up by the robbery and she won't forget it for the rest of her life," said DI Dowson. "Robberies like this are not just about stealing money, they put a lot of people in danger."
Although the robbers did not physically touch the cashier, he said criminals such as these "would stop at nothing to get away".
DC Stephen Munro pointed out it was not only the victims who suffered, but their families too. There had also been a lot of witnesses to the robbery which resulted in it having "an enormous effect on the community".
The robbers made the initial part of their getaway in a Fiat Punto, later discovered to be stolen from Manchester, abandoning it in Lune Street.
At this stage the investigation was said by DI Dowson to have gone "cold," but, thanks to the observations of the people of Longridge, determination of DCs McMurdo and Munro and a lucky piece of information from a Longridge PC, DI Dowson says two of the three robbers were tracked down and caught.
Following the police appeal for information about the days leading up to the robbery, he says residents reported sightings of a suspicious, black Ford Mondeo having been parked up outside someone's house on Willows Park Lane, to where the robbers had been spotted heading after abandoning the Punto. Information regarding part of the registration plate of the Mondeo was also discovered.
Searches of nearby gardens resulted in the discovery of one of the sledgehammers believed to have been used in the robbery. Forensic evidence was gathered from the sledgehammer and the Fiat Punto and items inside it.
Then a real breakthrough came with "some brilliant police work" by Longridge PC Paul Meades who learnt of a suspicious black Ford Mondeo having been spotted outside a jewellers in Crawshawbooth . He alerted CID.
"We jumped all over that and that is when the investigation took off," said DC Munro, the Mondeo being a pivotal role in the investigation. Inquiries in Crawshawbooth resulted in CCTV having captured "an excellent view" of a man who turned out to be a known offender to Greater Manchester Police: Michael Parr. CCTV also revealed the Mondeo's registration, which had been cloned from a Mondeo belonging to a woman at Rishton. Police then put the registration into their automatic number plate registration system while frantically linking forensic evidence to Parr who was arrested in Greater Manchester in the Mondeo on January 30 and sent to prison.
Unknown to Parr, DI Dowson said the Accrington team applied for a warrant to search his home while he was in prison, discovering a number of interesting items including a balaclava with fragments of glass and other items that could have been used in armed robberies including a homemade battering ram and a £5,000 Breitling watch. The watch was identified as having been stolen during a £170,000 robbery at Peter Jackson's jewellers in Southport and CCTV footage from that showed the offenders using a homemade battering ram which was later identified as the ram discovered in Parr's house. Also at this point the team was able to link Parr to the robbery at Marsden's jewellers in Clitheroe.
But there was still to be a further twist in the tale: Parr was released early from prison, unknown to the Accrington team, who were still gathering evidence in relation to the Halifax robbery.
However, Parr "was picked up very quickly" after being involved in an armed robbery at a Post Office in Bury in which baseball bats, sledge hammers and even a knife were brandished. His mobile phone, which played a large part in the evidence, showing Parr had been in Longridge the day before the Halifax robbery and put him at the scene of the Longridge, Clitheroe and Southport crimes, was seized and the Accrington team, who were alerted straight away, brought Parr over to Blackburn.
Holyoak – who had become known to police after being arrested for a public order offence when they carried out the warrant at Parr's home – was also arrested after the Bury cash-in-transit robbery and his mobile phone also pinned him down as having been involved in the Halifax robbery.
"This was a long and complicated investigation involving a number of detectives from the local CID teams," said DI Dowson, adding that he wanted to praise his team of detectives for their "thorough, precise and dedicated" work on the case. It was clear that the area was being targeted by a gang of organised robbers. He said first the detectives identified those responsible and the evidence they collected was then so strong, he believed the robbers had no option but to plead guilty.
"It shows the hard work and commitment of these officers in solving crimes that have an impact on everybody who is involved, especially in a small community like Longridge. They did 90% of the work, were dedicated and that's why they got the results."
Parr's sentence is made up of eight-and-a-half years for each of the Lancashire robberies to run concurrently.
He was also given eight-and-a-half years for a robbery in Merseyside and another eight-and-a-half years for the cash-in-transit robbery – also to run concurrently. He was then given another year for the burglary in Greater Manchester, to run consecutively.
Holyoak was handed three-and-a-half years for the Lancashire robberies and three-and-a-half years for the cash-in-transit robbery, to run concurrently.
A Halifax spokesman said: ''We are delighted a conviction has been secured. We thank all those involved in bringing these criminals to justice."