Casino Raid Was A Catalogue Of Errors

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The raid on the Victoria Club started to go wrong when one of the alleged gunman let his scarf slip and had to keep pulling it up.

Then, when they tried to escape through a fire exit, the pair found it locked and had to make off through the front entrance.

A third man, who was said to have disposed of their getaway car, burnt himself so badly he had to call for an ambulance and spent five days in the burns unit of a Nottingham hospital.

Reminding jurors of the prosecution's case yesterday, Judge Andrew Hamilton said the robbery happened on November 11, 2004, at 7.30pm.

"You might think it was quite a well-planned robbery. Someone had to drive the car to drop off the two robbers. When they went in there, they intended to terrify the staff and steal as much money as they could. But things started to go wrong. The man with the gun let his scarf drop and he kept pulling it up. The second thing that went wrong was that when they attempted to escape by the fire exit they could not and had to find another way out."

He said Vincent Hawkins had done a "very bad job" of setting fire to the car.

The jury has heard 22-year-old Hawkins, of Duoro Drive, Arnold, is serving 18 months in prison for arson.

The second offender, who cannot be named for legal reasons, has admitted his part in the robbery, the jury has heard.

A third man, Martin Hogan, denies robbery and possession of a firearm.

He allegedly pointed the gun at receptionist Lisa Parks while the unnamed man collected cash from a safe into a holdall.

Hogan, 50, of Birchfield Road, Arnold, told the court yesterday he was not involved and was watching a DVD at a friend's house near his home.

The jury of six men and six women have heard how police used mobile phone evidence to trace his movements.

Judge Hamilton reminded the jury that Ms Parks was the only witness who identified Hogan.

"She told you she was not 100% that it was him," he said. "None of the other witnesses could identify the defendant."