Theft of cash bag staged by ex-soldier

10:12am Saturday 10th May 2008

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A FORMER soldier who faked a robbery to help a young mother struggling with drug debts walked free from court yesterday.

Family friend Anthony Bingham, 45, said he dressed in a dark green camouflage jacket and a black woolly hat to snatch a bag of cash from the door-todoor collector in a street in Hemlington, Middlesbrough.

The weeping woman later reported the "mugging" to police, but they had divided up the £440 cash, said prosecutor Jolyon Perks.

Mr Perks told Teesside Crown Court: "She said that a masked individual had assaulted and robbed her of the bag containing between £400 to £700, and also two cheques for £150.

"The defendant accepts that there was at least £400 cash in the bag."

Bingham said that he received £150 and the woman kept the rest to pay off debts to a drug gang that was threatening her.

He kept the bag, which he later showed to her woman friend who was acting as her security guard on the day, but was not there.

Mr Perks said: "He told her that the robbery was staged, and to convince her of it he produced the bag which he had taken on the day from the woman."

Mr Perks said the collector is currently facing trial on a series of theft charges, which she denies.

Bingham had already given her £2,800 to settle the bills for her crack cocaine addiction and to feed her children, said Peter Wishlade, mitigating.

Mr Wishlade said: "There is nothing intimate between them.

"What happened was that she kept saying that she was under threat from drug dealers and she had no food for the children.

"He has obtained £2,800 in loans which he gave to her mother to discharge her drug debts.

"He is still receiving threats from people because he is seen as somebody who was able to give her money. He resists that.

"He accepts that he must be punished, but he might be dealt with on the basis that he was extraordinarily stupid."

Judge Peter Bowers told Bingham: "This sort of offence needs to be marked to the public by a term of imprisonment."

Bingham, of Arundale, Hemlington, was given a six months jail sentence suspended for 18 months, with supervision, after he pleaded guilty to the theft from July 23 last year.