Train raid duo caged

The pair held up two 13-year-old friends at Lea Green Station using an imitation firearm and a knife, stealing just £1.90 and a mobile phone from their petrified victims.

A huge police response which followed culminated in armed officers surrounding the Sefton pub on Westfield Street in St Helens town centre after a tip-off.

The pair, both from Liverpool, were sentenced last week at Liverpool Crown Court for the January 11 robbery. They must both serve 12-month detention orders.

The court heard how the teenagers targeted their victims after spotting them at the station. They approached the two boys and ordered them to turn out their pockets.

When they refused the duo produced a silver BB gun and a knife. Fearing for their safety the youngsters handed over £1.90, a mobile phone and a silver chain.

The pair, who cannot be named for legal reasons, made their way into St Helens town centre where they sold the phone for £10.

Police then received a tip-off from the pubic they were in the Sefton pub.

But when armed officers arrived minutes later they had vanished.

They were eventually captured when an off-duty British Transport Police (BTP) officer spotted them at Liverpool Lime Street station.

Detective Chief Inspector Gary Jones, of BTP, said: “The level of menace in this incident was nothing short of shocking.

“The two young victims were simply waiting for a friend at the station when they were approached by the offenders brandishing what appeared to be a handgun and a knife.

“Any crime is unacceptable, but when it is accompanied by the use of violence and weapons it becomes something else entirely.

“Thankfully the boys were not injured during the incident, but there is no doubt that the trauma will stay with them for a long time.”