Man charged in connection with Swiss Cottage armed robbery
The Western Union branch, taped off by police after the robbery. Picture: Imogen Blake - Credit: Archant
A man has been charged with an armed robbery in Swiss Cottage which saw staff threatened with a sledgehammer and a handgun.
George Patrick Langley, 45, of Penfold Street, Lisson Grove, appeared at Hendon Magistrates Court on Thursday charged with conspiracy to commit robbery.
Two men stormed into a Western Union branch in Finchley Road just before 1pm on Friday, July 19, brandishing a sledgehammer and a handgun and threatening to shoot members of staff.
One man smashed a glass counter separating staff and customers with the sledgehammer, while the other demanded a terrified worker hand over money.
The pair stole between £8,000 and £10,000 in a mixture of sterling and Euro notes before fleeing the branch and getting into a waiting car in Fitzjohns Avenue, Hampstead.
Langley is due to next appear at Harrow Crown Court on August 8.
