RUTHLESS gunman John Adams fluffed an armed raid on a Bury pub, when brave staff and regulars fought back with beer and pool balls.

Adams (28) was one of two men who burst into the Pack Horse pub at closing time, armed with a handgun and a baseball bat, a court heard.

When he demanded money from the safe, the bar manager -- a former marine -- threw a pint of lager at him and a customer whacked him with a pool cue.

Adams remained at large for up to seven months before detectives found his DNA at the scene of a £360,000 robbery on a clothing warehouse in Middleton, during which a terrified couple were bound and gagged for four hours.

Police found his DNA on a soft drinks bottle he had left in the warehouse, and linked it to the raid on the pub in Manchester Road, during which Adams bit the landlord on the arm.

On Wednesday, Adams, of Scarsdale Street, Salford, was jailed for 12 years at Minshull Street Crown Court, Manchester, after pleading guilty to attempted robbery, possession of an imitation firearm and robbery.

Prosecutor Mr Darren Preston said that the raid at the Pack Horse pub occurred on November 17, 2002.

Half an hour after one of two masked men stole a Saab convertible at gunpoint from a petrol station forecourt in Bolton, two hooded men burst into the Pack Horse at closing time.

Adams was brandishing a handgun, and his accomplice a baseball bat.

Adams pointed the gun at bar worker Andrew Duckworth, and demanded the safe but Mr Duckworth -- who had served aboard the HMS Antrim which was bombed during the Falklands War -- threw a drink at the defendant.

Suddenly, one customer, Darren Weston, struck Adams with a pool cue and the pair stumbled into the cellar area.

Adams raised his gun and fired at Mr Weston. There was a flash and a bang, but the gun was later discovered to have been firing blanks. Mr Weston then went to hit Adams again, but was struck in the face with a baseball bat by the other raider.

The blow sent him back into the bar area, at which point customers locked the thugs in the cellar. Mr Weston attempted to throw a pool ball at the pair, but then turned his attentions to a third man seen fleeing the pub. He made off in the stolen Saab, but not before Mr Weston followed and pelted him with the ball.

The customer was taken to hospital, where he was treated for a head wound and damaged teeth. In a statement he told how he and other customers feared for their lives.

Meanwhile, the landlord John Lomas, and his adult son David, had heard the rumpus and made their way downstairs into the cellar area where they came face-to-face with Adams, who was holding a vodka bottle.

Adams told Mr Lomas senior to get out of the way, but when he refused a struggle ensued. Adams produced the gun and threatened to shoot the landlord.

Adams fled upstairs, where his accomplice was halfway out of a first floor window. Adams repeated his threat to shoot Mr Lomas and his son, but the landlord grabbed him.

Mr Lomas senior was then punched in the head and Adams sunk his teeth into his arm, before also jumping from the window.

The defendant was arrested on June 5, 2003, and made no comment to police but remarked: "It's DNA -- I know about that -- I left bucket-loads of blood at the pub."

Passing sentence, Judge Jeffrey Lewis said: "For these offences there is only one outcome, imprisonment for a substantial period of time.

"Regrettably, this kind of offending is all too prevalent in the Greater Manchester area and the suburbs as a whole."