The gang from Greater Manchester were masked and armed with a hammer, a knife and a Samurai sword when they tried to smash their way into the Mark Worthington Jewellers on a Saturday lunchtime.
But armed officers, acting on a tip-off, were waiting and arrested the gang before they carried out the raid in Water Lane, Wilmslow, on May 9.
All four men were handed long jail sentences at Chester Crown Court yesterday.
Michael Burke, 28, of Winster Avenue, Stretford, and Marcus Bousquet, 27, of Glastonbury Road, Stretford, were given indeterminate sentences for the public protection.
Judge Roger Dutton said they were 'armed to the teeth' and would serve a minimum of four years behind bars before they could be considered for parole.
Philip Wernham, 28, of Groby Street, Stalybridge, was jailed for eight years and Anthony Watson, 22, of Woodbridge Road, Flixton, was sentenced to six years. They can be considered for parole half way through their sentences.
Two of the men, Bousquet - who was carrying the Samurai sword - and Burke, pulled up outside the jewellers in a Ford Focus.
The pair kicked at the front door of the shop while staff cowered inside and retreated to the back of the shop before activating the shutters.
Bousquet and Burke got back into the car with Watson, the getaway driver, behind the wheel.
But as the gang tried to escape their car collided with an unmarked police vehicle.
Officers then leapt out of the car and cracked the raider's car windows with axes before hauling them on to the pavement.
Gas masks
Onlookers watched in horror as the armed officers - wearing gas masks - then disabled the trio using CS spray.
The fourth member of the gang, Wernham, who was waiting a mile from the scene in a second getaway vehicle also tried in vain to escape.
He jumped out of a Vauxhall Combi van and started to run.
All four were arrested by the police.
No one was hurt in the raid and no shots were fired, but a statement from the jeweller's read in court said the owner feared for his and his staff's safety because it was the sixth time that his store had been targeted by raiders.
One of the two female customers who was in the store at the time also said in a statement that she had been extremely shaken by the incident.
All the men, who have a string of convictions, pleaded guilty to attempting to commit robbery at a preliminary hearing on May 28.
The judge said he had given them maximum credit for their guilty pleas.
Jailing them, Judge Dutton, said: "Each of you committed your part in an extremely serious attempt to rob a commercial premises, which contained within it property which must have been worth many thousands of pounds.
Vulnerable
"It was a jeweller's shop which was vulnerable to attack. Fortunately, the owner of the property had as a result of previous attacks taken the precaution of installing excellent security. This was responsible for thwarting your attempt to rob it.
"This was a planned robbery involving two vehicles, fearsome weapons and disguises.
"The plan was Burke and Bousquet would burst into the shop, the staff and shoppers would be frozen to the spot while you would make off with jewellery worth thousands of pounds. You would then go to Wernham waiting in another vehicle and make your getaway.
"It was only because of the security system that you were thwarted."
He added: "All four of you have appalling records for criminal offences. Wernham, Burke and Bousquet, you all already have serious robbery convictions and that in my view is an extremely significant aggravating factor in this case."
Watson was also sentenced to four months to run concurrently for driving while disqualified. He was given a three-year driving ban.
After the jail sentences were handed out, Det Insp Chris Duffy, of Greater Manchester Police robbery unit, said: "The officers observing this group that day witnessed first hand the terrifying actions of this group at a jeweller's on a Saturday lunchtime.
"The victim's reacted quickly to protect themselves but by carrying these weapons this was a very real attempt to rob jewellery." Tweet
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why should two of them be considered for parole half way through their terms?? they were there to wound kill or maim , if anyone got in their way, they have a long criminal record!!
i just dont get it!!!
what sort of detterant are sentences of a maximum of 4 years for armed robbery,absolute joke
Excellent work by GMP officers - more of the same, please.
What a joke 4 years and the judge gave them maximum credit for their guilty pleas joke! joke! joke! Im so glad I emigrated from that hole I used to call home.Yes there are still good people about, but I got out due to being sick of the scum and pathetic courts handing down weak as p*ss sentences.MANCHESTER a place that used to be home thats now over run with council house vermin!!!
Praise should be given to the person or persons who tipped off the police without that the police would have been 'appealing for anybody with information to come forward'. But still well done GMP, the courts are nothing but a b....y joke.
Come on MEN, what's with the positive story? Let us know the scoop on where the police were parked, and by the looks of things the windows in the car were smashed. Run a story on how the police are allowed to go about committing criminal damage as they please. Come on, stir us up into hysteria again!
I wonder if this is the same gang who have been robbing various restaurants in didsbury, heaton moor, cheadle etc recently with an assortment of weapons?
im sorry but the police are quite right to use excessive force if you commit a crime or are committing a crime you for go any rights to nice treatment im sure if the police turned up to this ARMED robbery asking nicely for them to stop it would not have had a successful out come as for the robbers philip w has had every chance to turn his life around which he has thrown away so I have no sympathy at all!
They were sentenced to 4yrs IPP which means they couldserve 8yrs before parole. As for excessive force, all the gang were IN the car unarmed, the weapons were in boot, also they were dragged from car cuffed then beaten to a pulp with the but of agun! bit more than a slap would,nt you say! yes they deserve to be jailed,but as for violence it consisted of 2 kicks to a door,the police showed more violence.I don,t condone what they did ,but to call their families scum, for what they did is wrong.And to praise the police for their violence is wrong had it been the other way round they would face gbh charges.Lets remember this was an attemted robbery, recently there have been henious crimes against children,people murdered, the sentences 6yrs 3yrs? etc... As for them being responsible for every other robbery , eg-heaton moor Stockport as quoted below the answer is no they were not! and dessie, manchester they wont be considered for parolehalfway through their sentence it was a four year IPP!