TWO Romanian men who carried out a robbery at an O2 store in Wrexham have been sent to prison for 18 months.

Leonard Gheorghe and Ion Marin travelled from their homes in Liverpool with a third man and targeted the phone shop in Regent Street where they made off with phones worth £3,010.

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O2 store on Regent Street, Wrexham

Judge Rhys Rowlands told the pair their actions had left the shop’s staff and a customer with psychological problems.

“You had no qualms about carrying out this offence in front of customers in the shop and that left two women quite badly affected," said the judge.

"A shop assistant was really scared and is paranoid that it is going to happen again, while the customer was left in shock."

Mold Crown Court heard the raid had been planned as the men bought a Renault Passat with which to travel to Wrexham the day before but prosecutor Karl Scholz said the robbery itself was over in a matter of 12 seconds after the three burst into the store and pulled phones off a wall display.

When the alarm went off Gheorghe ran out into the street, but the third member of the gang threw a punch at the shop’s assistant manager Steven McNair, who managed to duck out of the way, but he was then pushed by Marin as he ran out to the getaway vehicle.

A staff member noted the registration and the car was stopped as it turned off the M56 at Warrington on route back to Liverpool.

Gheorge told police he was planning to sell the phones for £50 to raise money to send to his mother back in Romania as she had suffered complications from surgery.

When questioned, Marin said he was going to us some of the proceeds from selling the phones to buy more expensive clothes for himself.

Gheorge, 27, of Corsewall Street, Liverpool and Marin, 27, of Altcar Avenue, Wavertree, Liverpool, admitted robbing Steven McNair at the O2 store of five mobile phones on May 21.

Defence barrister Steven Edwards said Gheorghe made frank admissions to police.

“He came to the UK in 2014 after some of his family came here some years before and secured employment and a better life," said Mr Edwards.

"He hoped to do the same, but unfortunately his employment has been sporadic such as factory work through agencies and on the streets of Liverpool selling the Big Issue.”

Henry Hills, for Marin, told the court: “The offence was born of poor judgement. He is a man who has financial difficulties.”

Judge Rowlands also revoked a community order imposed on Gheorge, but made no separate penalty as he had carried out all his unpaid work.

The court heard a third man, David Bucuresteau, 29, of Banner Street, Wavertree, Liverpool, had also been charged with robbery but he had twice failed to answer bail to appear in court and a warrant had been issued for his arrest.