Three men from Accrington have been jailed for a total of nearly 30 years for their part in robberies that saw a security guard shot in the leg.

The men were part of a five-strong gang that carried out two cash-in-transit robberies in Blackburn and Thornton-Cleveleys in 2008, making off with £70,000. Colin McCash, 31, of Spencer Street and Simon Ginn, 28, of Water Street, had pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit both robberies and were sentenced to 10 and 12 years respectively.

James Mulholland, 37, of Windermere Avenue, was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery in relation to the incident in Thornton Cleveleys and was sentenced to seven-and-a-half years.

Two men from Blackburn, Dean Farrell and David Evans, were convicted of conspiracy to commit robbery and possession of a firearm with intent in relation to the Blackburn robbery.

David Evans, 20, was sentenced to 10 years and Dean Farrell, 22, was given an indeterminate sentence for public protection with a minimum of 11 years and three months.

Gang leader McCash planned the robberies after lifelong friend and Loomis security guard Ginn provided him with information about when cash deposits would be taking place.

In the first robbery on August 25 2008 the gang stole £50,000 from a Loomis security guard as he tried to fill up a cash machine at Morrisons supermarket in Thornton Cleveleys.

Farrell and Evans approached security guard John Moss at around 6am and forced him to hand over the cash cassette.

Simon Ginn was one of the Loomis guards present at the Thornton-Cleveleys robbery, locking himself in a bunker while the attack took place. James Mulholland drove the getaway vehicle.

In the second robbery the gang intercepted a Loomis security van making a cash delivery to an ATM machine in Blackburn on December 11, 2008. During the robbery 30-year-old Loomis security guard Imran Aslam was shot in the leg and the robbers made off with £20,000.

Detective Superintendent Neil Hunter led the investigation.

He said: "This has been a long and demanding investigation into an organised crime group who used unnecessary violence against security guards from Loomis and I am delighted with the result.

"A small dedicated team worked tirelessly for the best part of 16 months on this enquiry and I am extremely proud of the dedication and commitment they showed over a prolonged period of time."

He condemned the gang members for their actions. Farrell and Evans shot Imran Aslam as he lay unarmed on the ground, after they had stolen the money.

Det Superintendent Hunter said: "The cowardly actions of Farrell and Evans in particular were extremely wicked. They have callously shot an unarmed man who was unable to defend himself who was going about his normal business. Imran, the injured security guard, is on the road to recovery and we wish him well for the future.

"Also the betrayal by Simon Ginn towards his colleagues at Loomis was quite disgraceful and he should hang his head in shame."

Det Superintendent Hunter said that the fact that the gang was responsible for two robberies, several months apart, in different parts of the county reflected the extent of their criminality.

He said: "I believe the community will be a far safer place as a result of these men being put behind bars.

"I cannot understate the co-operation we received from the community, their public spirited assistance also contributed massively to this conviction and I would like to express my sincere appreciation to them.

"We also worked extremely closely with Loomis and Applied DNA Sciences during the investigation and the ground breaking work around linking and identifying the staining on the notes to the money that was stolen during the robbery was crucial and this also contributed to the outcome and is a great example of partnership working."