A 34-YEAR-OLD man has been imprisoned for eight years today after carrying out a series of armed robberies in High Wycombe using a toy handgun - with his own child’s name written on it.

Shailesh Patel, of Greenway Court, High Wycombe, pleaded guilty to three counts of robbery, one count of attempted robbery and four counts of possession of an imitation firearm.

Judge Christopher Tyrer said of Patel’s victims: “They did not know you had your child’s toy. They had no means of knowing what you were carrying.

“This was pre-meditated offending and it is not difficult to assess the effect upon your victims of what you did to them.”

Aylesbury Crown Court heard he began the spate of robberies to pay of a “drug debt” of £800. Patel struck, wearing a mask and with what appeared to be a gun covered in cloth, at Coral Bookmakers in New Road at around 9pm on December 10 last year, stealing £227.

The court heard a police dog, searching the area afterwards, found a plastic toy gun with the first name of Patel’s child written on it.

Then, on January 3 he hit Tote Bookmakers in Totteridge Road shortly after 6pm, where he again demanded money wielding what appeared to be a gun.

The court heard he took £127.60 from the till and a further £200 in bank notes from the safe. Manager John Allen was left “shaken and distressed” by the ordeal, prosecution counsel Roger Spencer-Bernard told the court. “He, in common with others, had no knowledge that the gun was anything other than a real one able to fire live ammunition.”

Then, on January 5, Patel attempted to rob Janet Jackow, a lone woman, in the Irish Club car park off London Road shortly after 6pm.

Mr Spencer-Bernard said Patel told her to get out of the car because he had a gun. The prosecution counsel added: “She appears to have shown she was made of stern stuff - she said ‘you’d better shoot me because I’m not getting out’.”

Patel, who was not masked at the time, fled when another woman responded to Mrs Jackow’s scream. Later the same night, at around 6.55pm, Patel hit the Jet Service Station in Desborough Park Road. He was once again masked and wielded what appeared to be a gun, taking £75 from the till.

He was stopped by police on January 18 after they spotted the Nissan Micra he was driving, which matched a vehicle captured on CCTV at the time of the robberies.

Two plastic guns were later found at his home - one of these toys again having the name of his child written on it.

Defence counsel Neil Jarvis told the court Patel began the spate of robberies to pay off an £800 drug debt, and once this was done he stopped committing the crimes.

Mr Jarvis said: “He believed he had no other choice. Threats were made not directly to him but to his wife and young children.”

Judge Tyrer noted Patel should be credited for pleading guilty at the first available opportunity but said the fact that Patel had been threatened over the debt was “unacceptable” mitigation and he should have gone to the police for help.

Judge Tyrer added: “If you got yourself into a mess there was only one realistic way out of it.” He told Patel before sentencing him: “All victims of your offending were vulnerable targets.”

He said the betting shops and petrol station had been “performing a public service by being open at night.”

Patel was sentenced to six years for each count of robbery and attempted robbery, to be served concurrently, and a further two years for each count of possession of an imitation firearm, to be served concurrently - making an eight year sentence in total.