A balding young man took part in a ‘sophisticated

A balding young man took part in a ‘sophisticated and
professional’ robbery to pay for his hair replacement therapy,
the Old Bailey heard today Thursday.

Richard Bearsby, a pnds stlng 150-a-week car park attendant,
was in debt for almost pnds stlng 5,000 after undergoing
state-of-the-art hair treatment in America.

He had never been in trouble with the law before being lured
by the prospect of easy money into helping in a lorry heist with
Aaron Birch, 27.

But the raid went wrong and the pair landed themselves in the
dock, where they admitted robbery and falsely imprisoning the
lorry driver and his mate.

Judge Neil Denison QC sentenced Bearsby, 25, to 12 months
jail, half that of Birch’s sentence, after hearing his mother
described how premature baldness almost ruined his life.

The sentences were ‘way below tariff’ for the offence, the
judge said.

Miss Wendy Joseph, prosecuting, said driver Mr Zulfigar
Abbasi, 27, and mate Mr Latif Bhatti, 23, were loaded with
2,000 leather jackets when they were robbed in Rotherhithe.

The cargo, worth pnds stlng 107,000 from manufacturers,
Janics Ltd, of Brick Lane, E1, was bound for Dusseldorf, the
court heard.

But the lorry was stopped just south of the Blackwall tunnel
by two men posing as police officers using the pretence of being
overloaded.

The victims only realised the ‘policemen’ were bogus when
they were handcuffed, gagged and shoved into a van, driven by
Bearsby and Birch.

Their role was to drive Mr Abbasi and Mr Bhatti around while
the rest of the gang emptied the lorry of its valuable cargo,
counsel said.

‘Mr Abbasi was begging to have his handcuffs removed, Mr
Bhatti had trouble breathing and both were clearly terrified.

‘They were driven about wildly for about an hour before they
heard police sirens.

‘They were in a highly emotional state.

‘
Bearsby had driven to Canterbury, Kent, where his driving
caught the attention of local police.

He refused to stop and
instead led officers on a wild car chase at speeds of up to
80 mph.

He and Birch were eventually arrested after stopping the
van and trying to make a run for it.

The lorry was eventually found empty in the Blackwall Tunnel
Trading Estate.

Bearsby and Birch refused to name the other members of the
gang, all of whom have so far escaped justice.

Bearsby, of Charing Cross House, Windmill Walk, Southwark,
and Birch, of The Cut, Southwark, admitted robbery and false
imprisonment for the November 10 raid last year.

Birch had three convictions for drug possession, the judge
was told.

Miss Sheila Davies, for Bearsby, said her client only became
involved in the offence after being told it was an insurance scam
in which the driver was a willing participant.

‘He was hoping to clear debts for huge medical expences incurred
because of (treatment for) premature balding.

That’s really the
reason why he needed money.

‘This is a tragedy.

‘
Bearsby’s mother, Mrs Sandra Mason, of Bexley, Kent, sobbed
as she told of the devastating effect balding had had on her
son since he started losing his hair in his teens.

‘He stopped going out completely, just to go to work.

‘Then he found an article in a magazine about a clinic in
America.

‘We helped him.

The first treatment was not a success.

It
cost pnds stlng 1,200, but the second costing pnds stlng 1,300
and third pnds stlng 2,000 were successful,’ revealed Mrs Mason.

‘We took out loans for these sums and Richard owed me money.

‘
The new head of hair worked wonders for Bearsby’s confidence
and ‘he started going out again,’ added his mum.

Defence counsel for Birch, Mr Thomas Buxton, said his client
turned to crime after suffering a crippling injury in a tragic
fall when he was younger.

He was approached by a south london ‘face’ – a known villain
– to carry out the heist and in turn recruited Bearsby.

Judge Denison told the two defendants they played a ‘small
but vital role in a very sophisticated and professional robbery’
after being lured by the prospect of easy money.

He said Birch must pay a heavier penalty, both for drawing
his co-defendant into the crime and for his own criminal record,
although the sentence was ‘way below tariff.

‘
Birch blinked as he was sentenced to two years jail.

Bearsby was told his part in the raid was done ‘to a
background of debt’ and was sentenced to 12 months jail.

ENDS