56 year old Alan Loveridge of no fixed abode but from the Thetford area was jailed for 7 years and 6 months at Ipswich Crown Court on Friday 9 December after he pleaded guilty to the two offences. He also pleaded guilty to possession of offensive weapons in both these robberies. His total sentence was 10 and half years, but will serve 7 and half years in prison. The first incident took place on Wednesday 3 August in the afternoon when two males are reported to have entered the post office on Well Lane wearing balaclavas and threatened staff with hammers and crowbars before demanding money from the till. A quantity of cash was then stolen from the till and the suspects reportedly left in a vehicle. A staff member sustained minor injuries during the incident. The second incident at Wells-Next-The Sea took place at a post office on Thursday 1 September 2022. Police were called to Station Road, Wells-next-the-Sea just before 4:45pm after a man entered the post office, armed with a crow bar and took cash from the premises. The man was reported to have been holding a crowbar after entering the building, before stealing a substantial amount of cash. Nobody was hurt during the incident. Shortly after the offence in Wells, officers from Norfolk arrested Loveridge in Dereham where he was found in possession of the cash from that robbery. He was taken to Bury St. Edmunds Police Investigations Centre for questioning and Loveridge was subsequently charged. Di Stu Dolan of Bury St Edmunds CID said: “Loveridge is a career criminal who in committing these crimes showed a callous and extremely threatening nature that would have been extremely upsetting for the victims. He has previous convictions for similar offences but he simply hasn’t learnt from his previous criminal activity so he will now have plenty of time to think about his actions now he is behind bars. Now he has been sentenced we will now seek a Serious Crime Prevention Order* through the courts to limit any future criminal activity.” “It is simply not acceptable to threaten people who are just going about their work and making a living -we will not tolerate such robbery offences and will do everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.”
- An SCPO can prevent involvement in serious crime by imposing various conditions on a person; for example, restricting who he or she can associate with, restricting his or her travel, or placing an obligation to report his or her financial affairs to the police. The SCPO hearing will take place on 10 February 2023
- Loveridge also pleaded not guilty to an offence in Claydon on 25 August and this is laying on file.
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