A father and daughter have been sentenced after they staged a fake robbery.

Chevinne Darling, 28, of Broadhead Strand, Colindale, allowed her father Anthony to steal £3,000 from the bookies she worked at.

On October 9 2016, Anthony Whyte of Greenway, Maidstone, entered the Ladbrokes in The Broadway, Edgware, and demanded cash via a note which read "put money in bag no tricks no buzzers".

Darling, who was one of two cashiers working on the day, handed over a total of £3,870 and subsequently reported she had been robbed by an unknown male.

Whyte was arrested in March 2017. Examination of his mobile phone identified a link to one of the cashiers prior to and after the theft and further investigation identified that the cashier was in fact his daughter.

The daughter was arrested in April 2017 and two of her mobile phones were seized. Analysis of the phones revealed a number linked to ‘dad’, which she was in contact with throughout the day of the offence.

On 9 May 2017 at Kingston Crown Court, Whyte pleaded guilty to theft and offered a basis of plea in which he stated he was only aware that it was his daughter half way through the offence. He said he thought she worked at a different branch.

At Guilford Crown Court on May 4, Darling was sentenced to 21 months’ imprisonment, suspended for two years, and 200 hours of community service.

Anthony Whyte who pleaded guilty to theft, was sentenced to 15 months’ imprisonment.

He was also jailed for a further 21 months for another robbery which took place on December 4 2016 at Labrokes in Watford Way, Mill Hill where he made demands and stole just over £400.

He was also disqualified from driving for 30 months.