A Bishop’s Stortford man who put his victims through a “terrifying mental ordeal” has been jailed for eight years after a spate of armed robberies, including one in Hatfield Broad Oak.

Adam Day, 36, of Norman Avenue was sentenced to a total of eight years in prison for three armed attempted robberies, as well as numerous other offences at St Albans Crown Court on Friday (May 3).

Day has previous pleaded guilty to the charges on March 25.

The court heard that at around 10pm on December 15, 2018, Day entered Lee Garden takeaway in Bishops Stortford, in possession of an air gun and demanded money. The victims refused and Day left the restaurant after firing a shot at the microwave.

The next day, shortly before 3pm and armed with an air gun, Day entered the Post Office in Hatfield Broad Oak, on High Street. He demanded money but the victim refused.

That same evening, Day committed another attempted robbery in Bishop’s Stortford. At around 7.15pm he got on a bus in Villiers-Sur-Marne Avenue, armed with an air gun again and demanding money. After he was refused, Day got off the bus and fired two shots towards the bus.

On January 6, police officers found Day in Villiers-Sur-Marne Avenue where he was discovered to be in possession of an air gun.

On Friday Day was also sentenced for a further offence that happened on December 14, where he was found to be in possession of a bladed article.

Detective Constable Dieter Sweeting from the East Herts Local Crime Unit, said: “Day put his victims through a terrifying mental ordeal. I hope that this sentence goes some way in allowing them to move on from the trauma they suffered. They all showed great bravery.”

He added: “The judge told Day he could have jailed him for 12 years but he took into account his cooperation with police, his full admissions and the fact that he had shown remorse. He noted that Day’s offending was motivated by a long-standing drug habit.”

Day has also been charged and sentenced with three offences that were previously taken into consideration.