A man has been jailed for 12 years for a number of offences including the brutal assault and robbery of a man in Clapham.

Lee Anthony Smith, 39 of no fixed abode was handed the sentence today (July 17) after he robbed a man he went on a date with last year.

On May 20 last year, Smith, who used a fake name of Luke, met up with the victim in Prescott Place for a drink.

When the date came to an end, Smith took the victim through an alleyway towards the high street.

It was here that Smith aggressively made advances towards the victim, who refused.

In reaction Smith assaulted him and beat him over the head and robbed him of his Rolex watch, iPhone and debit card.

This attack caused significant injuries, including fractures to the cheek bone afterwards Smith went on to use the stolen debit card to buy food.

Smith was arrested and charged in June 2018 where he pleaded guilty.

Smith also pleaded guilty to burglary and fraud on January 31, following a series of linked incidents that happened between the February and July, 2018.

On February 8. Smith went to a house on Kenwyn Road, where he demanded money from one of the occupants claiming that he was owed drug money.

He forced the victim to withdraw £250 from a nearby ATM and pay him on the spot.

On the 11 July, Smith returned to the same place and broke into the house in the early hours of the morning.

He stole a backpack containing bankcards that he used only moments after the burglary, similar to the robbery in May.

Smith has now been convicted of all charges, which includes: Three counts of fraud and a count of burglary relating to the incidents in February and July 2018; and a count of robbery and another of fraud on 20 May 2018.

He will serve nine years for robbery and a further three for burglary, both to run consecutively.

Sentences for fraud totalling five months will run consecutively.

In a statement to the court, the victim of the robbery in May said: “After the incident it took me six months to return to work due to suffering PTSD.

“I have been to the doctors because I have been suffering with anxiety since the robbery and I have never had it before. I still have numbness to the left side of the head where I was hit and I still have a scar.

“It has made me question my own personal judgement and broken my trust in people.”

Detective Raymond Sekalongo, of the Central South CID, said: “I hope the victims can begin feel more confident and at peace now that Smith has been jailed.”