Two men have been jailed after they raided a pub in Tameside.

Patrick McDermott (born 08/10/1984) of Cardale Walk, Harpurhey and Michael Joyce (born 31/01/1980) of Edge Lane, Droylsdon pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery at an earlier hearing at Minshull Street crown court. Joyce also pleaded guilty to the theft of a motor vehicle.

On Wednesday 3 June 2010, McDermott was sentenced to seven years two months imprisonment.

Joyce was sentence to six years four months imprisonment, with a 12 month sentence for theft of a motor vehicle to run concurrently.

Darren Curran (born 04/06/1981) of Peakdale Road also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit robbery, but he is due to be sentenced on 6 July 2010.

On Wednesday 12 November 2008 the men went into the Royal Oak pub on Nook Lane in Ashton Under Lyne.

One witness described the men as acting suspiciously. They stayed in the bar until approximately 10:30pm.

At around 11pm the pub was closed and the owners went upstairs into their living quarters of the building.

At around 1am on Thursday 13 November 2008, McDermott, Joyce, Curran and another man, forced their way into the pub wearing masks.

They were brandishing knives and one of the men held their knife to landlord's throat.

The men then demanded they be taken to the safe, shouting: "Give us the money".

As they were led to the safe, one of the men held a sharp object to the landlord's back.

When he got to the safe, the victim struggled to type in the correct security code and one of the offenders said to him: "You've got one more chance or I'm going to stab you in the kidneys. You won't see your family again."

He eventually managed to open the safe and the men ran off with the money. On their way out, the four men stopped to steal a bottle of Bacardi from the bar.

The victim's pet dog was found after the robbery with internal bruising to the chest and stomach.

Detective Constable James Cowan said: "The victims in this incident were extremely shaken and I hope this sentence goes some way to help them move on.

"Thankfully no-one was physically injured, but the terror these thugs brought to the victims' lives will no doubt stay with them for some time."These violent men are now exactly where they belong - behind bars."