TWO men who took part in the robbery of a jewellery shop in Wellington have been jailed.

Joseph Hale and Thomas Bell were sent down for their role in a smash and grab robbery of a jewellers in Wellington.

Hale, 23, of Rappart Road, Merseyside, and Bell, 26, of Park Street, Liverpool, both pleaded guilty to robbery when they appeared at Taunton Crown Court.

The court hard that the pair used a pick axe and a metal pole to smash the window of Joseph Welch Jewellers, in South Street, Wellington, on August 11 last year.

They stole watches worth a total of £11,000

At Taunton Crown Court, Hale was handed a 16-month prison sentence, while Bell received a two-year jail term suspended for two years, 240 hours of community service and a five-month tagged curfew.

DC David Cousins said: “We welcome the custodial sentence given to Hale and restrictions in place for Bell which reflects the seriousness of the offence they committed.”

After the attack, Joseph Welch told the County Gazette how he used a stick to fight off efforts to steal Rolex watches from his store.

Mr Welch was serving a customer at the Wellington store when another member of staff raised the alarm after hearing a thudding noise on the window in the display room.

The workers pressed the panic buttons to raise the alarm and proceeded to secure the shop, with staff taking the customer into the office.

By then, the raiders had smashed a three-inch hole in the window and Mr Welch rushed towards them on the other side of the glass.

He said: “I used a stick in an attempt to remove the stock from their reach and fight them off from inside the hole.

“I whacked him on the chest and they then left.

“They got some things, but some things were recovered from the scene.”

Mr Welch added: “We were all pretty shaken. It wasn’t a nice ordeal. I just reacted to the situation.

“It’s a situation that’s always a possibility, but it’s something we try and mentally prepare for.

“You think in the event of this scenario, this is what would happen. We talk through things we would do.

“I’m proud of my staff and we looked after our customer the best we could.

“They (the raiders) didn’t come in. It could have been a lot worse.”