A thug who stole expensive smart phones from passersby in a string of muggings around Hackney’s Millfields Park has been jailed for four years.

Reiss Hunter often followed his victims - who were mostly male - as they got off a bus in Lower Clapton and threatened to shoot or stab them if they did not hand over their valuables.

On one occasion, the 20-year-old of Paradise Park, Lea Bridge Road, attacked a man in Millfields Road and stole cash and an iPhone mobile telephone worth �300.

Hunter was sentenced to four years in prison at Snaresbrook Crown Court today (August 5) for four counts of robbery and a further count of attempted robbery after pleading guilty on July 17.

Det Insp Glenn Butler, from Hackney’s robbery unit, said: “This brings to a conclusion a very successful investigation by Hackney officers.

“Hunter has today been sentenced and I hope this will be a timely reminder to all those involved in robbery that we will do everything in our power to bring them to justice and they will potentially face a lengthy time in prison.”