A chef dubbed ”hardly the brain of Britain” by a

A chef dubbed ”hardly the brain of Britain” by a cop has been jailed for four years after his bungles in a two-day armed robbery spree.

Christopher Drake, 33, was collared after a shop assistant who he held at gunpoint recognised him as a local man.

Unmasked, Drake then grabbed pnds stlg 140, as well as packs of cigarettes and sweets from the successful raid.

The following day the father-of-two carried out a carbon-copy attack at a nearby newsagent.

But that raid was swiftly aborted when a shop worker screamed for help.

Passing sentence, Judge Harold Wilson, QC, told Drake: ‘Small shops are susceptible to attack and are easy, soft targets.

‘Shop keepers who provide an invaluable service to the public are vulnerable to those attacks.

‘They are entitled to protection from the courts from offenders who attack and terrorise them.

Your sentence must be a deterrent and can only be one of custody.

‘

Prosecutor Jonathan Davies said Drake targeted the two shops in the Hackney area of east London on April 20 and 21, this year.

‘During the successful enterprise he held a gun to the head and neck of the shop assistant and threatened another member of staff that he would shoot the man he was holding.

‘

Drake was handed cash, cigarettes and sweets before fleeing the scene.

‘The shop worker knew perfectly well who the raider was and was later able to identify him,’ said Mr Davies.

The following day spy cameras in a nearby shop filmed Drake approaching the counter and demanding cash from the shop worker.

‘The staff member cried out and as a consequence other workers appeared and the defendant ran out,’ said the prosecutor.

‘He was chased out of the shop and at one point kicked one of the workers chasing him and threw a milk bottle at him.

‘

Jamaican-born Drake was arrested four weeks later and quizzed by Flying Squad officers.

James McRandell, defending, said a detective told Drake a shopkeeper had recognised him, adding: ‘It was hardly the brain of Britain robbery was it.

‘

Drake, of [64] Meredith Street, Plaistow, east London, admitted robbery, attempted robbery and two charges of possessing an imitation firearm.

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