Man jailed following robberies at newsagent and bookmakers in Cheltenham

A man has been jailed after CCTV footage showed him assaulting an employee of a bookmakers before stealing several hundred pounds from the till.

Robert Hall, aged 37 and of Wellington Street in Cheltenham, appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday (13 January) where he was sentenced to a combined seven years and nine months in prison.

Hall was ordered to pay surcharges and must serve up to half of the sentence before being considered for release on license.

He had previously pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a pointed and bladed article and two counts of robbery.

These charges relate to a robbery at a newsagent on 25 September in which £281 of cash and cigarettes were stolen and a further robbery at Paddy Power in Cheltenham town centre on 11 October where £500 was stolen.

Police had been called to Bath Road in the town at around 9pm on Thursday 25 September with a report that an unknown man had entered a newsagent and threatened staff with a knife before stealing cash and cigarettes.

Officers began to conduct enquiries and on the following day identified, arrested and charged Hall with the offence. He was remanded to appear at court but was later released by a Magistrate and not further remanded in custody.

Several weeks later, on Saturday 11 October, police were called to Paddy Power on High Street at around 8.10pm with a report that a man had climbed over the counter, assaulted a member of staff and stolen money from the till.

Hall, who had already been charged with the newsagent robbery, was identified by officers after they recognised him from the previous encounter.

Upon Hall’s arrest trainers which he was wearing at the time of the Paddy Power robbery were found and seized.  The soles of the trainers matched foot marks found at the scene.

In interview Hall mostly answered no comment but at one point he did say "Just get me on the van to prison... I have no choice."

He was subsequently charged with the additional offences and pleaded guilty at his first court appearance.

During sentencing Hall admitted to three additional offences, including a robbery at a supermarket in August 2025. This was taken into consideration when he was sentenced. 

In mitigation Hall's lawyer said that he has suffered with mental health disorders throughout his life following childhood trauma and began using drugs at a very young age.

It is believed that a relationship breakdown led to Hall using drugs again. The lawyer went on to describe how Hall owed drugs debt and this had influenced his behaviour last year.

A victim impact statement was not provided by the victim of the newsagent robbery however one was gained as part of the investigation into the robbery at Paddy Power.

This detailed the impact of Hall's offending with the statement saying: "The evening of the attack I believe I was in shock. Everything happened so quickly I do not believe I had time to process it all. 

"I believe I didn’t feel the extent of the damage that had been done to me because of the shock and adrenaline from the event.

"People kept telling me that I should go to hospital because of the amount of times I was hit to the head but I think I was in too much shock to do anything.

"Mentally this has taken a huge toll on me, and I had to get in touch with a counsellor as I have been reliving the attack over and over.

"I am so scared of working by myself or something like this happening again, I just constantly think of the worst. I love my job at Paddy Power and I would love to go back to work however at this time I am unsure whether I will be able to do so and I find this very upsetting.

"I do not want this attack to change my life completely however I do not know whether I will be able to get through it if I do return to work, I no longer feel safe."

PC Callaghan from the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Local Policing Area said: "Hall's actions caused considerable distress for the employees of the premises that he targeted, and I am pleased that he has now been put behind bars.

"I hope this outcome shows how Gloucestershire Constabulary won't tolerate this type of behaviour."

Robert Hall case- edited CCTV footage for release.mp4