A ROBBER who terrorised and traumatised two betting shop workers in armed raids in Newport and Caerleon, has been sentenced to life imprisonment.

Gareth Williams, of Llwynu Road, Abergavenny, used an imitation firearm to threaten staff and steal cash from a Betfred branch on Caerleon Road, Newport, last June, and from a William Hill branch in Caerleon in July.

The 44-year-old's chilling history of previous armed robbery was laid bare at Cardiff Crown Court, as Judge Daniel Williams branded him a dangerous man who poses a significant risk of serious harm to the public.

Williams stole £500 from the Betfred branch late on Saturday June 18, after threatening an employee with a gun.

It was an imitation but, said Judge Williams, "he heard the sound of it being prepared to fire. He was terrified and thought he was going to be killed."

The incident had a "profound and dramatic" effect on a family relationship, and the victim also lost his confidence.

Williams went to the William Hill branch in Caerleon at noon on Sunday July 17. After tricking the member of staff from behind the protected counter, he again brandished an imitation gun.

Judge Williams said the staff member "bravely" fought Williams, who punched him, before making off with £200.

The staff member - a William Hill employee of 30 years, and who was blind in one eye - had since become "reclusive and reserved", and had difficulty sleeping or eating, said Judge Williams.

The court was told that in the late 1990s, Williams was involved in - according to his own estimate - a £1.3m deception as a bank employee, siphoning money from clients' accounts, and also defrauded a bank of £2.6m, offences which earned him a 39-month prison sentence.

In 2008 he stole money after threatening an Anglesey shopkeeper with a knife, and carried out a similar attack shortly afterwards.

Later that year, returning to prison after a court hearing, he escaped and took a prison officer hostage, claiming he had a knife. He then fled and, said Judge Williams, "hijacked a female car driver, and escaped".

On the run, in March 2009, he robbed a bookmakers' near Chester, using an imitation firearm, followed shortly afterwards by a similar offence. Subsequently arrested after threatening police officers with a handgun, and ramming a patrol car, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, and put on licence for life. Released in June 2015, he lived in Chepstow, then Abergavenny.

Williams was found guilty of last year's robberies after a trial last December. Judge Williams told him: "It is clear from what I have seen and heard that you enjoy inflicting harm upon others."

"You are thoroughly manipulative and dishonest to the core. You have no remorse for what you did. You set about both robberies with stunning nonchalance.

"You have chosen to live a life of crime and show no signs you want to change. You will remain a danger to the public for the foreseeable future."

Williams was sentenced to life imprisonment on each robbery charge - to run concurrently. He will serve a minimum of eight years before being considered for parole.