Day release inmate jailed for Barclays robbery in Kent

A man who committed a £25,000 robbery while on day release from a Kent prison has been jailed for 11 years.

Neil Corrigan, 28, from Dover, had been serving a jail term at Standford Hill open prison on the Isle of Sheppey when he targeted Barclays Bank in Swanley.

Canterbury Crown Court heard he used an imitation firearm to target security guards unloading cash from a van.

He was helped by former prisoner Ricky Johnson, 25, of no fixed address, who was jailed for nine years.

Corrigan had served five years of a nine-year sentence for robbery when he carried out the raid on the security van instead of going to a work placement on day release.

Sentencing Corrigan and Johnson, Judge Simon James said they had carried out a "slickly executed" armed robbery that was meticulously planned.

He also criticised Corrigan for abusing the day release system.