A GRANDFATHER who admitted ram raiding a city jeweller with an articulated lorry did it because he thought he was about to lose his job, a court heard.

But it was all a misunderstanding and Gary Barnes was not under threat of redundancy from the haulage company he worked for, the Daily Echo can reveal today.

He admitted robbery when he appeared in court yesterday.

Barnes drove the articulated lorry through the jeweller’s window in Southamton city centre before its grabbing about £150,000 worth of top quality watches.

Today he is facing a prison sentence following the robbery at Parkhouse in Above Bar.

He had told police he carried out the raid because he feared he was going to lose his job with a haulage firm.

However the Daily Echo understands that Barnes was not under threat of redundancy.

A source at Pentalver said Barnes had jumped to the wrong conclusion – and revealed that colleagues had even had a whip-round for him.

The source said: “Everything was fine from an employer point of view and we were just as surprised when it happened.

“There was nothing like redundancy in the pipeline – it’s a conclusion he came to.”

Barnes had reversed at speed over the pavement and drove his work’s lorry through Parkhouse’s reinforced front window.

As bystanders looked on in disbelief, the 54-year-old grandfather jumped from the cab and grabbed nine Rolex watches, one of which is said to be worth almost £30,000, from the window display.

When challenged by the manageress, he shouted at her to go away or she would be shot.

Barnes then uncoupled the Mercedes cab from the rest of the unit before driving off.

However, the police soon caught up with him, defence barrister Justin Hugheston-Roberts told Winchester Crown Court.

“He couldn’t go fast in the cab,” he explained. “He didn’t get far and he was arrested within 20 minutes.”

All the watches were recovered, although some had been damaged, the court heard.

Dressed in a blue T-shirt and blue jeans, Barnes, of Shirley Towers, Southampton, pleaded guilty to robbing the jewellers on February 28.

Barnes, who was said to be of previous good character, made no application for bail and was further remanded in custody for a pre-sentence report.

“The fact I am ordering a report gives no indication of sentence,” Recorder David Bartlett told him. “I think you will have to assume a custodial sentence will be passed on you.”

Barnes was dramatically arrested after police gave chase to a cab answering the description of the wanted vehicle.

They eventually caught up with him in Shirley Avenue but Barnes did not surrender.

Instead he rammed the pursuing police car. He was eventually detained when a plucky woman officer hung on to his cab door and sprayed him with CS gas.

In interview, he told detectives that he planned to sell the watches to people in pubs for about £40,000 and then flee abroad

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