Howard Johnson offers £10,000 reward to catch thieves

National Hunt trainer Howard Johnson has offered a £10,000 reward for details leading to the conviction of two men who stole £100,000 from him at gunpoint.

The men threatened Johnson and his wife with a handgun and a seven-inch knife after forcing their way into White Lea Farm in Roddymoor, County Durham on 11 April this year.

They made Johnson open his safe, and took £100,000 in cash. Much of it was Scottish £50 and £100 notes. Johnson says he was saving the money to by his wife a dream cottage, and that years as a gambler had given him a hoarding instinct.

The robbers told Johnson that they would return to shoot him and his wife if they called the police within three hours of them leaving.

The couple waited 20 minutes before dialling 999. Police arrived promptly, but the bandits were long gone.

“I’ve said I will give £10,000 if they got anybody for this. I’d like this put to bed to stop it happening to anybody else and get some peace of mind,” Johnson told the Racing Post.

Anyone with information should call Durham Police on 0345 60 60 365 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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