Teenage girl lured taxi drivers to masked gunmen who tried to rob them of takings Using fake names, Lucy Gardner, 19, booked the two cabs, including one who had a Beretta-style weapon pointed at his face 
Decoy: Lucy Gardner lured cabbies into the hands of attempted robbers A teenage girl has been jailed after she lured two taxi drivers to addresses where masked gunmen were waiting to rob them of their takings.
Lucy Gardner, 19, used fake names to book the two cabbies, including one who had a Beretta-style weapon aimed at his face in a terrifying attack.
The baby-faced teenager, previously of Winslow Close, Redditch, was jailed for 30 months after she pleaded guilty to two charges of attempted robbery.
Judge Sybil Thomas, sitting at Birmingham Crown Court, said: "You played an integral part in two very serious offences. They required a young woman to be the person who lured the taxi drivers to the scene."
The first robbery attempt took place on July 10 last year when Gardner ordered a cab from an address in the Midlands.
Jason Pegg, prosecuting told the court the teenager had booked the cab under the name 'Katie', but she was not there when the taxi arrived.
He added: "Stood outside was not Katie but a male who sat in the passenger seat."
The man got into the taxi and asked the cabbie to wait but, within seconds, another man appeared at the driver's window wearing a mask.
Mr Pegg continued: "Both men started shouting, 'give us your money, give us your phone', (the driver) was punched and the passenger pulled out a Beretta style hand-gun and pointed it at his face.
"He (the driver) was shouting, 'don't do this' to try and raise the alarm but the males persisted. He says they were relentless."
Yet the brave cabbie fended off the would-be robbers and the driver sped away from the scene with his doors still open.
A second attempt was made to rob another cabbie two days later when Gardner ordered a taxi from Beech Croft Road.
That robbery failed when the driver drove off after becoming suspicious when the teenager got into the passenger seat - and a man with a mask got into the back, carrying 'something in his hand'.
He drove off and the masked man fell out of the back and Gardner began screaming before she was let out further down the road.
It is understood Gardner was arrested after police traced her through her phone number, which contained the fake name 'Katie' as well as potential taxi pick-up and drop-off points.
Judge Thomas heard Gardner had fallen into 'bad company' after leaving the care of the local authority.
But despite hearing how the teen had been a 'victim of exploitation' she said the offence was so serious custody was the only option.
"You knew there was a firearm going to be produced, that it was a replica gun. It must have been simply terrifying," she said.
Samantha Forsyth, defending, said: "She has acknowledged the seriousness and gravity of her position and also expressed considerable remorse and regret for her actions."
Two other men arrested over the attempted robberies were later released without charge.
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