Two men from Battersea have pleaded guilty to a series of knifepoint robberies committed throughout central London over the past nine months.

Sean Maher, 26 of no fixed abode and Jay Jay Manley, 26 of Austin Road, SW11, both pleaded guilty at Southwark Crown Court on Wednesday, 15 August to having carried out numerous knife point robberies throughout central and south London.

Maher also pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, dangerous driving and escape from lawful custody.

In 2011, Maher, originally from Battersea, was sentenced to 12-years imprisonment for a previous conviction. Six years into his sentence (October, 2017), Maher escaped from his prison cell at a category D prison and was on the run from police.

On May 3 this year a 29-year old man was walking his dog along Franklins Row, Chelsea, when he was approached by two suspects. The first threatened him with a knife, which was prodded into the victim’s stomach. The second suspect took the man’s watch before they both made off from the scene.

Following the incident Maher and Manley proceeded to embark on a series of robberies in areas including Chelsea and Fulham, which often involved threats with a knife.

A week later a 45-year-old woman had parked her car on Sandilands Road, SW6, when she was approached while on her own by two men who forced her up against a fence, held a knife close to her and demanded her watch. After she handed it over, they got into a stolen Nissan Qashqai with false plates and drove off.

On Friday, June 29, officers from the Crime Squad were about to enter an address in Seely Road, Tooting, when Maher jumped into a car and made off at speed along a pavement before re-joining the road.

Police followed until Maher came up against a refuse truck blocking the road. He mounted the pavement and drove at the bin men; crashing through their bins – all to get around the blocked road. Fortunately nobody was injured.

On Monday, July 2, and after further investigation, the officers forced entry to a flat in Macey House, SW11. There they found Maher hiding in a cupboard.

The flat was searched after Maher’s arrest and evidence linking him to some of the robberies was found and he was charged with various offences including escaping from prison, three counts of robbery, possession of an offensive weapon, dangerous driving, and handling stolen goods.

Investigation into the robberies continued and on Tuesday, July 1, the second suspect, Manley, was arrested and charged with three of the robberies. He was also charged with three offences of possession of offensive weapons.

Maher and Manley will be sentenced at the same court on 28 September.

Detective constable Tony Holley, the investigating officer from Westminster Crime Squad, said: “These two men embarked on a crime spree of shocking proportions. They identified and targeted victims who were all vulnerable and preyed further on their vulnerability, using knives to cause even more fear, just so they could steal what was not theirs to take.

“The sheer level of dangerousness to the public that these men posed cannot be underestimated and it was fortunate that all the victims succumbed to their demands as I shudder to think what lengths they would have gone to in order to achieve their aim.”