TWO men responsible for a terrifying armed robbery at a designer clothes store have been put behind bars.

Police have released footage of a terrifying armed robbery at a designer clothes store in Newcastle as Mark Amis, 28, and Gareth Downey, 30, were jailed for 11 years each.

Amis and Downey entered the Jules B clothing store in Jesmond armed with a firearm and a machete on November 25, 2015.

Witnesses watched on in horror as they gathered thousands of pounds worth of clothing after they had been seen driving round the block in a stolen car - blasting Little Mix on the car stereo.

That was one of a number of raids committed at commercial properties across North Tyneside at the end of 2015.

Northumbria Police used telecomms data and CCTV to identify them as the masked men behind the robberies.

The men, both of Walker, in Newcastle, admitted three robberies, two thefts, two arsons and handling stolen goods when they appeared at Newcastle Crown Court.

Northumbria Police have released footage of the armed robbery in Jesmond and said that the sentence is a "strong message" to other would-be criminals in the region.

Detective Sergeant Keith Howells, who led the investigation with Central Area Command CID, said: "These were very serious offences that left both victims and witnesses traumatised and fearing for their safety.

"These robberies were clearly planned and calculated but both Amis and Downey were clumsy in their execution of those plans which meant we could stop them in their tracks and put them behind bars.

"It is thanks to hours of forensic investigation into CCTV and telecomms data that allowed us to pin the suspects to the scene and gather evidence from the technology in their possession."