Robber demanded £3k from William Hill betting shop in Seaham

Gary Redmarcher placed a handwritten note on the counter saying, "I have a gun, and I don’t want to hurt anyone," as he demanded the cash at the William Hill bookies on The Avenue in Seaham, a court heard.

Caiomhe Bicknell, prosecuting, told Durham Crown Court that Redmarcher warned the assistant not to raise the alarm, in the incident on November 27, but she recognised his voice from a previous visit to the store.

When he was told it could take 20 minutes to get access to that amount of money, Redmarcher said to just give him what was in the till, and he left with the £132.81 contents.

Officers went to his home the next day and recovered the note, but no weapon was found.

When interviewed, Redmarcher denied responsibility, claiming the description given by witnesses did not match the clothing he was wearing that day.

But, on Friday (January 2), the 45-year-old, of Jasper Avenue in Seaham, admitted a charge of robbery and was jailed for 27 months.

Gary Redmarcher received a 27-month prison sentence after admitting a robbery committed at a Seaham bookmakers' shop (Image: Durham Constabulary)

Miss Bicknell read a victim statement given by the assistant who described her “shock and distress", adding she feared that something similar may happen again.

Redmarcher was said to have 19 previous convictions, including one of burglary for which he received a 32-week suspended sentence in January 2023.

In mitigation, Calum McNicholas, said his client had, “a long-standing ‘relationship’ with drugs”.

He said: “It’s a problem which has plagued him for his entire life.

“It’s a protracted, long-standing addiction to drugs from which he has suffered.”

Mr McNicholas said the defendant’s drug use and problems in his family life combined to leave him desperate for money, which led to the offence.

“He’s now remorseful over the way he acted, however, having had the chance to consider his situation having been working with the drug services available while on remand in prison," he added,

“He has been able to see just how damaging his actions could have been."

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Mr McNicholas said the defendant was brought up in South Africa, but his life was "turned upside down" aged 14 when his father, who worked in the mining industry, was killed in an underground explosion.

Recorder Mark McKone told the defendant he left the betting shop employee feeling very shaken, fearing he had a gun in his bag.

He said he appreciated there was no gun in the bag, but the assistant was not to know that at the time.