Knife-wielding robber who held up bookmaker's and Co-op in Histon gets nine years

Kenneth Dring, 53, of Liverpool, left victims fearing for their lives in robberies two days apart

A robber who leapt over the counter of a bookmaker’s brandishing a knife and two days later forced Co-op staff in the same village to open a safe has been jailed for nine years.

Kenneth Dring, 53, left his victims in fear for their lives when he committed the robberies in Histon.

He targeted the Coral bookmaker’s in High Street at 8pm on Friday, April 6, walking into the store and vaulting the counter with the blade in his hand.

Waving the knife towards a member of staff, he demanded that he open the safe and stole £275 before fleeing on a bike.

Two days later, he entered the Co-op on Station Road at 10pm and ask if there were any jobs available. He returned just before 11pm and held a knife to the manager’s back, demanding money from the safe.

This time, Dring escape with £2,000.

Officers identified Dring, of Boode Croft, Liverpool, from CCTV footage taken at both stores.

When police arrested him, they found the jacket and trainers he had been wearing during the robberies.

Dring pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and two counts of possessing an offensive weapon in public.

Last Friday he was jailed at Cambridge Crown Court.

Det Con Lisa Bacon said: “These robberies left several victims fearing for their lives, which has understandably left them shaken.

“This sentence reflects the severity of Dring’s actions and shows the tough stance the criminal justice system takes on knife crime.”

In April 2008, Dring was jailed for six years after being identified from CCTV footage robbing a post office in Hoddlesden, Lancashire. He leapt over the counter and threatened staff, escaping with about £3,800 before being tracked down by a police dog to a wooded area. The court heard he was a heroin user.

In 1996, Dring was given seven years in jail for three offences of robbery.

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