TWO men have been cleared of robbery after the culprit told a jury he acted alone, posing as an undercover police officer as he demanded cash and drugs.

There were cries of 'yes!' from the public gallery at Worcester Crown Court as Paul Gill and Darren Smith were both unanimously acquitted of the robbery. Before the not guilty verdicts, Mr Smith who was in the dock of court one could be heard talking to his mum in the public gallery above. Someone shouted down to him 'you'll be alright kid'. Throughout the trial Mr Gill, 29, and Mr Smith, 31, have been supported from the public gallery by friends and family.

The decision of the jury of six men and six women came shortly before lunch after the panel retired late the previous day. When the verdicts came in a man shouted 'release them from the dock!'

On Thursday Jonathan Shire gave evidence from the witness box to say he acted without the knowledge of Mr Gill and Mr Smith, whom he described as 'associates' rather than 'friends'.

As Mr Gill left the court a free man he said 'thank you, thank you!'

The robbery took place at Kenwood Close, off Kenwood Avenue, Worcester, on July 24 last year

Shire, 28, of Mulberry Terrace, Worcester, stole £10 and a set of car keys from a couple parked in a Renault Clio. He disputes using the key as a weapon to threaten the man in the car but admits the robbery.

Shire said: "I ran over to the car, said I was police and demanded the cannabis."

Shire told the jury how on the day of the robbery he had been drinking 'everywhere' in Worcester and had smoked cannabis and crack cocaine and taken ecstasy with the other two men during what was described as a 'session' and a 'party' by Mr Gill. Shire had been sitting in the back passenger seat of Mr Smith's BMW when they went to buy cigarettes, alcohol and fuel at the Texaco garage in Tolladine Road. He estimated it took Mr Smith about 15 seconds drive them away from the forecourt to where the robbery took place in Kenwood Close. Shire said he overheard Mr Gill saying he had found £20 of crack cocaine and would have smoked some himself 'if there was any going' in Kenwood Avenue.

Shire told Mr Smith to stop the car because he needed the toilet, smelled cannabis coming from the Clio and decided to rob the two people inside, spotting the 'red end glare of the fag'. Shire told the jury Mr Smith drove off with Mr Gill and left him there. Shire insisted 'there was no planning involved'.

"I did not even know what I was going to do it until I smelled the cannabis" he said.

Shire walked back to his address in Mulberry Terrace and saw the other two men in the street there about 45 minutes later. The car keys and the £10 were never recovered and Shire informed the jury he could not remember what he had done with them. Shire was arrested alongside the other two the suspects at an address in Windermere Drive, Warndon, the following day and interviewed by police.

Shire did not answer questions in police interview and when asked why he had done so by prosecutor Michael Aspinall he said: "I have got no questions to answer for them. They just twist my words."

The prosecution case is that Shire put the key of the Clio to the robbery victim's throat. However, although he admits the robbery, Shire disputes that he held the key to the victim, Halit Gocmen's, neck.

Before the hearing both Mr Smith and Mr Gill said from the witness box that that they felt like victims because they had been accused of a crime they did not commit.

Mr Smith said at an earlier stage of the case: "I have spent six months in prison for this. I'm a victim too."

Mr Gill said he had suffered from depression as a result of the case.

Mr Gill was represented at the trial by Belinda Ariss. Mr Smith was represented by Niall Skinner. The case was heard by judge Nicholas Cole. Shire's sentencing hearing will take place at Worcester Crown Court at a date to be fixed.