A GANG of robbers who carried out violent muggings on men at a gay cruising spot were jailed for a total of eight years.

Harry Dangerfield, 19, of Wesley Road, Leyton, and two teenage boys, aged 15 and 17, attacked the victims at Hollow Ponds in Whipps Cross Road, Leytonstone.

The trio were charged with four offences carried out in the space of one week in October last year.

They pleaded guilty to two of the offences and were sentenced at Snaresbrook Crown Court on Wednesday, May 26, close to where the robberies took place.

Dangerfield was sentenced to 45 months in a youth offenders' institute.

The 15 and 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced to two years each in a youth offenders' institute.

A fourth teenage defendant was discharged after no evidence was found against him.

Residents living near Hollow Ponds have complained about the beauty spot becoming a no-go zone for families because it is notoriously used by people having sex in public.

Neighbours have reported seeing men park outside their homes day and night, leaving used condoms, and other rubbish strewn across the road and in the woods.

The wooded area has even been listed on a gay website as one of the best meeting places in London for sex.

But the City of London Corporation - which maintains the forest – is aware of the problem and say it is working closely with police to stop the problem deterring visitors.

Forest Safer Neighbourhoods Team (SNT) also patrol the Hollow Pond area on a regular basis and carry out joint patrols with SNT teams from Wood Street ward and Wanstead Wards.

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