Robber’s appeal rejected

A MASKED thug jailed for terrorising motorists in a series of brutal carjackings failed to convince Appeal Court judges his sentence was too harsh.

Ryan Griffin (27) was jailed for 12 years at Manchester Crown Court last September after admitting six counts of robbery and carrying a knife.

Griffin, of Crown Street, Failsworth, was one of three men who used violence to force drivers to hand over their car keys. The gang attacked several drivers, including a 34-year-old woman in Hollinwood. Earlier the same day, a 58-year-old man getting into his BMW in Manchester was threatened with a meat cleaver and punched.

The Appeal Court, in London, was told Griffin’s sentence was “excessive” and that he had not been given enough credit for his guilty pleas.

But dismissing the appeal, Lord Justice Richards said Griffin and his accomplices had acted with determination and with “utter disregard for their victims’ welfare”.