An robber who disguised himself with make-up and a ginger wig to raid several travel agents has been sentenced to 28 years in prison.

David Bentley, 54, previously of Court Road in Orpington, terrified staff and customers at travel agents in Tonbridge, Folkestone, Surrey and Lincolnshire by threatening them with what they thought was a gun.

In the first raid on April 27 last year he burst into Thompson travel agents in Tonbridge High Street brandishing an imitation firearm.

He waved the fake weapon at a female staff member and demanded she fill a bag he had with money from the till.

This amounted to more than £7,000.

CCTV images showed him escaping in a blue Citroen Picasso, using false number plates, driven by his partner Justyna Pietrzak, 29, from Palmer Road, Gravesend.

The second attack occurred on June 12, 2013, when Bentley stole more than £21,000 from the Thompson travel agents in Church Street, Folkestone.

Bently also stole more than £15,000 in cash and travellers cheques from a Thomas Cook travel agents in Surrey on July 8.

And on September 26, Bentley entered the Thompson travel agents in Lincolnshire and again threatened staff with a weapon.

But this time the panic alarm was activated and he was spotted driving off in a Honda CRV.

Officers in Lincolnshire later carried out a stop check on the car and arrested Pietrzak.

Links were established to Bentley and a warrant was carried out at his home in Court Road, Orpington.

During the warrant Bentley drove into the parking area of the house in a blue Citroen Picasso, displaying false number plates.

When officers searched Pietrzak’s home in Palmer Avenue, Gravesend, they found a cosmetic box containing makeup.

Other enquiries found that Bentley had been ordering various number plates, later identified as used by the vehicles in the robberies.

Bentley was found guilty of four counts of robbery and four counts of possession of an imitation firearm.

Pietrzak was found guilty of four counts of robbery and acquitted of firearms charges on 15 September.

On October 17 this year, Pietrzak was given a suspended sentence for her roles in the robberies.