Serial robber who disguised walking stick as gun caught out by south London rail ticket inspector

A serial robber who pretended he had a gun by disguising a walking stick in a bag was caught after giving his details to railway ticket inspector.

Brett Mullan, 50, from Gravesend, "terrified staff" after travelling by train to Lee, Norwood, Sutton and Crayford to rob a string of bookmakers.

But the Metropolitan Police Flying Squad was hot on his heels after Mullan gave his real name to a rail revenue inspector.

The crucial information meant police could gather footage of each offence and of Mullan going to and from his house.

Detectives searched his home address and found a collapsible walking stick used to resemble a shotgun.

Detective Constable Carl Stallabras, Flying Squad, said: "Mullan terrified members of the public and staff at the bookmakers who were going about their normal lives when he demanded cash and made threats of serious violence. Those people feared for their lives.

"But a simple mistake on his way to the second offence was all we needed to track him down, and from there the wealth of evidence we obtained left him no choice but to plead guilty."

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