Asda Colne armed robber jailed

Andrew Moran (31), from Salford, was given the sentence in Madrid after pleading guilty to the offences that took place in Spain while he was on the run.

Moran, who had been wanted since 2009, was arrested in May after a raid at a luxury villa in the Calpe area of Alicante. Two handguns, 60 rounds of ammunition and a machete were recovered.

In May, 2005, Moran and his criminal associate, 29-year-old Stephen Devalda, held up a Royal Mail van outside Asda. A handgun, machete and baseball bat were used during the £25,000 raid in which a security guard was injured.

Moran was later arrested but during his trial at Burnley Crown Court in February, 2009, he assaulted four security guards, vaulted over the dock and escaped. He was subsequently convicted in his absence of conspiracy to commit armed robbery.

A joint operation was launched by the North West Crime Regional Unit, the National Crime Agency and the Spanish national police to locate him. He was traced but when Spanish officers went to arrest him, he crashed his car into them and made off in his vehicle.

He was then caught following the raid in May, 2013.

Stephen Devalda was jailed at Preston Crown Court in November, 2011, for nine years and eight months for conspiracy to commit robbery and seven months for breaching bail.

After serving his sentence in Spain, Moran will be brought back to the UK where he will be sentenced for the armed robbery and for escaping from lawful custody.