A teenager who fell in with a gang of armed robbers during a trip to the countryside has been found not guilty of being involved with the heist.

Aaron King discovered the car he was waiting in for a lift back to London was the getaway vehicle for three men, who had stolen £95,000 of watches from a jewellery store.

Mr King, from Thornton Heath, said he accepted a lift with the robbers as he had no other way of getting home from the trip to Eastbourne, East Sussex.

Anthony McGovern, 24 of no fixed abode and Eugene Douglas, 23, from Catford had already pleaded guilty to robbery and were found guilty of handling stolen goods at Brighton Crown Court on March 9.

A 17-year-old friend of Mr King’s, who cannot be named for legal reasons, also pleaded guilty to robbery and was found guilty of handling stolen goods during the trial.

Mr King was found not guilty of both offences but pleaded guilty to possession of a bladed article. He has been released on unconditional bail and will be sentenced at a later date.

He agreed to the trip on May 28 last year, but fell asleep in the car in south London and did not know where he was when he awoke.

The 19-year-old was taken to a terraced family home where eight men were talking, and fell asleep again before waking up at 8.30am and getting back in to the car with the three robbers.

The jury heard the four men made off in a Volkswagen Golf before switching to an Audi A4 and getting involved in a 90mph police chase, which ended with the car smashing into the central reservation of the A23.

Only a single watch was recovered from a coat in the back seat of the car, with the others believed to have been passed to an accomplice who has not been caught.

All four men and both cars were found to be covered in ‘Smartwater’ from the store’s security system, which glows under ultraviolet light.

McGovern, Douglas and the 17-year-old have been remanded in custody. They will return to Brighton Crown Court for sentencing on April 23.