A man will be sentenced for robbing a security guard of more than £20,000 and handling stolen goods and cash worth more than £62,000.

James Mansbridge, 41, and accomplice Paul Jones, 37, followed a security guard into Vanas Pharmacy and Post Office in Rectory Road, Pitsea, and threatened him in front of staff and customers.

The pair, who were armed with a knife and a handgun, stole a cash box from the guard. It contained more than £20,000.

A shot was fired during the robbery on December 17, 2014 but no-one was hurt.

Mansbridge and Jones fled in a Vauxhall Astra but were tracked to Romford within an hour and arrested, thanks to help from members of the public who gave information about the vehicle’s movements, and the Metropolitan Police.

The money was also recovered.

Mansbridge, 40, a car salesman of no fixed address, and Jones, unemployed, of Rothbury Avenue, Rainham, each admitted charges of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon in a public place and possession of a firearm at a hearing last year.

Mansbridge was also charged with handling stolen goods following another armed robbery at Sainsbury’s in Bansons Lane, Ongar, on June 24, 2013.

Five suspects, one armed with what is believed to be a shotgun, confronted three night staff members, tied them up and locked them in a store room. One of the victims was also struck in the face with the gun.

They stole items worth more than £62,000 including alcohol, tobacco, electricals, batteries and lottery scratch cards, and also took a four figure sum of cash.

The gang broke into the supermarket at 12.40am and left at about 2am. The staff managed to raise the alarm at about 2.20am.

Acting on intelligence, Essex Police and the Metropolitan Police Service executed a search warrant at a yard in Willoughby Drive, Rainham, on June 27, 2013. They found the stolen items inside a container, along with Sean Geary, 32, who was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

Mansbridge and Lee Cox, 33, unemployed, of Crescent Road, Dagenham were later also arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods.

They denied the charges but were convicted on Friday May 12, 2016 following a trial at Basildon Crown Court. Geary, of no fixed address, admitted the charge at an earlier hearing.

Mansbridge, Jones, Cox and Geary will be sentenced next month.