TWO knife-wielding cousins have each been jailed for four years after robbing a Quinton convenience store.

Dwaine Keane, aged 33, of Lower Higley Close, Quinton, threatened staff at the Co-op in Quinton Road West with a kitchen knife and demanded they open the till.

His cousin Lee Keane, aged 40, of Lowry Close, Smethwick, brandished a dumbbell weight bar as both men jumped onto the counter and helped themselves to cash.

Staff alerted police as the pair left on foot at around 7pm on October 11 and officers in a nearby patrol car arrested them within five minutes in Simmons Drive.

The cash and the weights bar were found on the men along with a balaclava worn by Lee Keane, but the knife was missing.

The officers called for back-up to search the area and the six inch blade was  found in the street a few yards from where Dwaine Keane was arrested.

Both men pleaded guilty to robbery at Birmingham Crown Court and were sentenced last Thursday (December 10) to four years each.

Detective Constable Darran Ford said: "Knife crime has no place in society and shop staff should not have to be confronted with this type of threat and the anxiety it causes.

"I’d like to thank each and every member of the public who called the police on that evening to alert us to the incident. We rely on your support to assist our investigations.

"The length of sentence reflects the severity of the crime and there is nowhere more fitting for these two than behind bars."