A GANG of raiders have been caged after a knife was used to terrorise staff during a hold-up at a Basingstoke shop.

One of the robbers threatened to cut off the store manager's ear during the raid at McColls convenience store, in Buckland Parade, South Ham.

The gang thought they had got away undetected after they fled with more than £1,000 - but they did not realise that the hold-up had been captured on CCTV.

Ashley Todd, of Dominica Close, Popley, his brother Stephen Todd, of Western Way, South Ham, and David Hollow, of Peveral Way, South Ham, all pleaded guilty to robbery and were handed prison terms when they appeared at Southampton Crown Court.

Fern Russell, prosecuting, said that two members of staff, 28-year-old Steven Rogers and 18-year-old Craig Lewington, were present in the shop during the robbery, which happened at about 7pm on November 27 last year.

The court heard that Ashley Todd grabbed Mr Rogers by the throat and tried to force him into the storeroom. Plucky Mr Rogers responded by punching the robber and a struggle ensued.

Miss Russell said Ashley Todd called his brother for help and the pair managed to get Mr Rogers on the floor of the storeroom. It was at this point that Ashley Todd held a knife with a two-inch blade against Mr Rogers' throat.

The prosecutor said that Ashley Todd demanded the keys to the safe. Mr Rogers mistakenly told him they were on a desk before realising he had them in his pocket and volunteered them.

Ashley Todd then threatened to "cut" Mr Rogers and slice his ear off if he lied to him.

While this was going on, Hollow grabbed the young shop assistant, forcing him to join Mr Rogers on the floor of the stockroom.

Miss Russell said that the offenders then turned their attention to the store's CCTV system, worried that they might be identified.

Mr Lewington showed the gang there was no DVD disk in the computer drive and this satisfied the men, who emptied the safe containing £1,280, before exiting the building through a fire escape.

However, while the crooks thought they had escaped being caught on CCTV, the images from the surveillance system were actually stored straight onto the hard drive, allowing the gang to be easily identified.

Stephen Todd was arrested on November 28 and initially denied involvement in the robbery.

Ashley Todd handed himself in on December 6, and Hollow was picked up at his home address on the same day.

Miss Russell said that Stephen Todd, the elder of the brothers at 29, has numerous convictions dating back to 1994, mainly for dishonesty offences.

Ashley Todd, who is 25, was first convicted in 1999 and has twice previously been a co-defendant with 24-year-old Hollow, for incidents of theft and ABH. Both have numerous other offences on their criminal records.

In sentencing Ashley Todd to an indeterminate sentence on the grounds of public protection, Judge Christopher Leigh said: "You were the one with the knife, and by using it in the way described, you showed that you do pose a significant risk of serious harm to the public."

This sentence means that Todd will serve a minimum of 20 months before the parole board decides his release date.

In handing jail terms of 36 months to Hollow and 32 months to Stephen Todd, Judge Leigh told them they had been lucky to avoid being given indeterminate sentences.