Staff were held hostage after robbers armed with a 'Zombie' knife broke into a budget chain store.
CCTV footage captured Joseph Nunn, 25, Daniel Cooke, 28, and another man, using an angle grinder as B&M staff opened for business, Manchester Evening News reports.
They removed the main door and ran towards the storage room, where a member of staff was held by the collar and forced the staff room, Minshull Street Crown Court heard.
The police were called to the store in Stockport, Greater Manchester, as staff were ordered to "open the f***** safe" by one of the men, but they were told it was on a timer.
Nunn, Cooke and the other man repeatedly came back into the room to check if it could be opened any quicker.
The Manchester Evening News reports that Nunn was holding a ‘zombie’ knife, a metal cutter and a meat cleaver.
Police arrived within 10 minutes and arrested them both at the scene.
The third man fled and is currently wanted by police.
Both Nunn and Cooke have now been jailed for four years and eight months after pleading guilty to offences of attempted robbery, possession of an offensive weapon and theft.
Duncan Wilcock, prosecuting, said that on January 14 this year, staff were opening up the B&M store at around 7.30am when the supervisor heard a loud noise.
After looking at the CCTV a staff member saw someone trying to enter the store with a metal cutter and immediately phoned the police.
“One minute later, the two defendants and another man entered the shop and ran from the front entrance through to the storage room,” Mr Wilcock said.
“They came across a member of staff, grabbed him by his collar and brought him into the staff room.
"The supervisor recalled people shouting in an aggressive manner and saw a male holding a knife.
“They were wearing balaclavas and all black clothing and she thought at that stage she was going to be killed.
"They told her to ‘open the f***** safe’ and told the other member of staff to get on the ground.”
The supervisor told the men that there was a 20-minute delay for it to open.
About ten minutes later three police cars arrived with five police officers and arrested the two men.
In CCTV footage of the terrifying incident which was played to the court, sparks could be seen on the front entrance as the men cut their way through before the door came completely off.
They can be seen running over to the tills and down the aisles before grabbing the member of staff and forcing him to lie flat on the ground face down for a few seconds.
He’s then brought by the collar and flanked by two of the men into the storeroom before the supervisor is seen to sit down next to the safe whilst they wait for it to open.
In a statement, the supervisor said the incident had left her feeling vulnerable and worrying about people targeting the shop again.
She said she had struggled to sleep as she can’t get the incident out of her mind and cannot forget the image of the man waving a ‘Rambo’ knife around.
She said: “I genuinely feared for my life."
“I don’t think the seriousness of this incident actually hit me until a couple of days later,” the male staff member said.
“I struggled to sleep and couldn’t understand why I was suffering with flashbacks.
"I genuinely thought I was going to die.
"I feel those responsible need to reflect upon the impact that their actions have on other people.”
Both Nunn and Cooke were said to have "appalling" criminal records and had previous convictions for robbery, burglary and drugs offences.
Mitigating for Nunn, Saul Brody said Nunn’s partner had apologised for his actions and is distressed at him being sent to prison.
For Cooke, Michael Johnson said: “He accepts what he said when he was apprehended, that he was bang to rights.
“As he said to the probation report writer, his selfish and inconsiderate actions will have an impact on those people doing nothing other than a day's work.”
Sentencing, Judge Paul Lawton said: “What you subjected those staff in that B&M store was a horrifying and terrifying ordeal, that was probably the longest ten minutes of their lives.
“It was extremely unsophisticated in its execution and it was your own planning which led to your undoing.”
Nunn, of Sandpiper Close, was jailed for four years and eight months for attempted robbery and possession of an offensive weapon.
Cooke, of Egerton Grove, Walkden was also jailed for four years and eight months for attempted robbery and theft of a mobile phone.
