This is the photograph that helped nail a pair of bungling would-be robbers.

The image – shown to an Oxford jury last week – shows Didcot man James Cumiskey’s Vauxhall Zafira following in the path of barber Luke Key’s Audi A3 convertible in November 2018.

Within minutes of the car being captured on CCTV on the Broadway, Didcot, Mr Key was approached by masked Ryan Roberts, who demanded he hand over the takings from his barbershop.

The barber managed to fight off Roberts, who was armed with a pocket knife and a wrench, despite still being sat in the driver’s seat of the Audi and parked outside his Long Wittenham home. The robber fled empty-handed to the waiting Zafira, which drove off at speed through the village.

Cumiskey’s driving wasn’t quick enough for Mr Key, who managed to catch up with the Vauxhall as it waited at traffic calming measures. A picture of the car taken by Mr Key’s then partner, who was in the passenger seat, led police to the Zafira’s driver.

Oxford Mail: Luke Key's Audi A3, a CCTV image shown to Oxford jurors Picture: CPS

Luke Key's Audi A3, a CCTV image shown to Oxford jurors Picture: CPS

Oxford Mail: James Cumiskey's Vauxhall Zafira, a CCTV image shown to Oxford jurors Picture: CPS

James Cumiskey's Vauxhall Zafira, a CCTV image shown to Oxford jurors Picture: CPS

Last week, Oxford jurors took less than six hours to convict 32-year-old Roberts and Cumiskey, 42, both from Didcot, of attempted robbery. They were remanded in custody and will be sentenced on August 5.

The Crown Prosecution Service has now released images of the two cars. The pictures were shown to the jury at the men’s trial, which was held at Oxford Crown Court last week.

During the four day trial, both men protested their innocence.

In his police interview, Roberts had laughed at suggestions he’d robbed Mr Key. He said: “If I wanted to rob someone I’d rob them.”

His father had sold the barbershop to Mr Key, which prosecutors said meant he knew the cashing up process. Roberts compared robbing the barber to ‘stealing from his own’.

Cumiskey admitted driving Roberts to Long Wittenham, but claimed he thought the younger man was there to buy drugs. Had he known they were there to rob Mr Key he would not have agreed to giving the man a lift, he said.

“I’m here today to prove my innocence. I’ve had this hanging over my head for two-and-a-half years,” Cumiskey told the jury.

Prosecutor Adam Williams said there had been a ‘flurry of activity’ between Roberts’ and Cumiskey’s phones before and after the alleged attempted robbery. “The Crown say at that crucial time when no contact was being made between the phones that you can reasonably infer they didn’t need to contact each other anymore because they were together.”

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