Wait for operation blamed for armed robber's bookies spree

Dean Hanman, 39, had been waiting for the operation – understood to be on his lower leg – since 2017 but the procedure kept being delayed.

The former foreman, who has 140 offences on his record, turned to prescription and street drugs to manage the pain before hatching a doomed plan last year to fund the operation privately through armed raids.

Jailing the Penhill man for 10 years and 10 months at Swindon Crown Court this morning, Judge Jason Taylor QC said: “You were in chronic pain and wanted money to pay for an operation that unfortunately had been delayed. Of course, that did not justify you doing what you did.”

Daniel Hanman's custody shot Picture: WILTSHIRE POLICE

Hanman, who already had an armed robbery on his record and was on post-sentence supervision when he carried out last year’s raid, admitted three armed robberies and one attempted robbery. They were all committed over a four week period in October and November.

His victims described the torment they had suffered as a result of his raids, with one even considering taking her own life after the robbery left her with severe depression.

This morning, prosecutor Ian Fenny said Hanman’s first robbery was committed at the Betfred in Moredon Road on October 6 last year.

He went into the shop after 5pm, wearing a beanie hat low over his head and a mask covering much of the rest of his face. “He asked [the female shop assistant] what time they closed, she told him it was 9pm and he spent some time inside the betting shop and indeed was behaving in such a way she and her colleague became suspicious,” the prosecutor said.

Hanman raids one of the bookmakers'. Circled in red: the pistol, which was never recovered Pictures: WILTSHIRE POLICE

He didn’t place any bets and, when asked to leave, launched himself over the counter at the two shop assistants. He waved a gun as he helped himself to cash from the tills and demanded to know where the safe was but was told the shop did not have one. One of the members of staff pressed the alarm.

As he left the store with £240 cash he bragged that the staff members should have been nicer to him and said he’d be back.

A month later, on November 3, a lone male member of staff was working at the Ladbrokes shop in Thames Avenue, Haydon Wick, when Hanman walked in dressed in the same disguise he’d worn in October.

Again, he launched himself over the counter and pulled a handgun from his pocket – demanding access to the safe. Mr Fenny said: “The complainant was obviously alarmed by what was happening and the defendant spoke to him in an aggressive manner and so the staff member did as he was told. He opened the safe and the defendant removed the cash from inside the safe.” He made off with £630 cash.

Betfred, Bridge Street Picture: GOOGLE

The next day, on November 4, Hanman hit the Betfred in Bridge Street, Swindon town centre. He pointed his gun at staff members, threatening to shoot or kill them. A male member of staff – previously the victim of a knifepoint robbery – did as he was told. The robber pushed him against the wall and demanded he open the safe.

Mr Fenny said of the victim: “This wasn’t the first time he had been the victim of a robbery. This had created in him an earlier sense of insecurity so on this occasion he decided enough was enough.” Hanman managed to get away with £2,000 cash.

Finally, on November 10, it was 6.25pm when a female staff member at the McColl's in Penhill Drive was taking waste out to the cages behind the store. She felt a pistol barrel dig into her stomach and heard Hanman tell her to get inside. When she managed to break away and raise the alarm Hanman fled.

By the time he was arrested by the police he had ditched the weapon. He answered no comment in interview but was identified from CCTV and DNA left on slips of paper.

McColl's, Penhill Drive Picture: DAVE COX

Mr Fenny read out five victim personal statements. They spoke of still suffering from nightmares and broken sleep, with one member of staff at McColl's – who was not threatened with the gun but was on shift on November 10 –saying she had considered taking her own life. She wrote: “I wish I could have called in sick that day so I wouldn’t have had to go through all this.”

Defending, Emma Handslip said her client had managed to turn his life around but, as a result of an injury, had lost his job, his relationship and his home. Hanman, who walked with a pronounced limp and also suffered mental health difficulties, had been waiting since 2017 for an operation that kept being pushed back by the NHS.

“He wanted the money because he wanted to have a private operation. This whole thing has not been about funding a drug addiction, this is about getting something that should have been provided to him,” she said.

Hanman was ashamed of his actions and genuinely remorseful, the court heard.

At an earlier hearing, Hanman, of Imber Walk, Penhill, pleaded guilty to robbery, attempted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

Jailing him for 10 years and 10 months, Judge Jason Taylor QC said: “You targeted these shops due to perceived vulnerability – minimal staff and often female employees. You targeted premises that you considered would be cash rich and had money in the safe. You weren’t just there, to use a colloquial expression, for pocket money. Indeed, you needed to raise a large amount of money for the operation you wanted to pay for.

“There was a marked degree of planning albeit it might fall short of significant. You had chosen your targets with care. You had either driven or walked to the location. You committed the offences during a pandemic when footfall would be reduced...and you bided your time either loitering inside or outside and of course you wore disguises – a beanie hat and taking advantage of the covid face masks.”

Hanman must serve two-thirds of his sentence behind bars before he is eligible for release on licence.

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