Robber Who Wore Clown Mask In Armed Raids Jailed

A 23-year-old who wore a chilling clown mask while robbing from Beefeater restaurants in Devon has been sentenced to almost 10 years in prison.

Oliver Leggatt left staff shaken after he held them up at knife and gun point as he stole from eateries around his home in Paignton.

Leggatt, an ex-employee of Beefeater, committed the first offence at the Kingsteignton branch in Newton Abbot in May 2014.

With his face covered, he threatened two female members of staff with a large knife before fleeing empty handed.

His second offence took place in December 2014, when a male employee at the Paignton branch was threatened with violence by Leggatt, who got away with £4,885 from the business's safe.

His final offence took place in April last year again at the Paignton branch when the female manager was threatened with a handgun.

She was also dragged by her hair and made to empty a safe of £5,000.

Leggatt appeared at Exeter Crown Court charged with one attempted robbery and two robberies.

He was jailed for nine years and nine months.

The sentencing also included time for a £65,000 fraud against his grandparents committed with his brother William Leggatt, who had previously pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 21 months in prison.

A co-accused for the third robbery offence, Natalie Shaw, pleaded guilty to burglary and received an 18 month sentence suspended for two years.

Detective Inspector Kay Chapman said: "In each of these robberies, especially the last one in which an imitation handgun was used to make threats, the witnesses were subjected to a violent and extremely frightening ordeal.

"It left them all extremely traumatised and shaken".