A man has been sentenced to eight years after he pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a firearm.

Nicholas Doyley, 44, of no fixed address, was sentenced today November 11 at Woolwich Crown Court.

On August 13 at 11pm police were called to a robbery in progress at a shop premise located on Lewisham Way.

The member of staff was in the process of closing down the shop when two men walked inside, one carrying a firearm, they aggressively demanded the member of staff open the till.

As he did so he was pistol whipped several times by one of the suspects and was hospitalised.

The second man is currently unidentified.

The men stole in the region of £1,500 and two phones belonging to the victim.

They then ran off into Friendly Gardens.

Detective Constable Dave Crewe from the Flying Squad said: “It was thanks to good CCTV footage that led us to identifying Nicholas Doyley as the gunman. This was a terrifying ordeal for the victim and I hope that the sentence today goes some way to providing them with justice.”

Doyley was arrested on October 10and subsequently charged.

He was sentenced to eight years for robbery and eight years for possession of a firearm, to run concurrently.