Four men have been jailed for a total of 34 years after a security guard was beaten during a robbery in Westminster.

Edward Smith was handed a 10-year sentence at Blackfriars Crown Court on Friday afternoon (June 12).

Also sentenced were Rocky Goldsmith and Joe Tomlinson, who were locked away from nine years each, and Kevin McGee, who was jailed for six years, the court said.

The men had hatched a plan to rob a security guard who was delivering money to an HSBC Bank in Baker Street on October 3 last year.

Smith and McGee, both 32, had been found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery at the same court in April.

At earlier hearings at Blackfriars Crown Court, both Goldsmith, 36, and Tomlinson, 30, had pleaded guilty to the same charge.

They struck at shortly before 5am, but were unaware their every move was being monitored by the Met Police’s Flying Squad, which had launched an intelligence-led operation called Operation Morguld earlier in the year.

At around 4.30am on the day in question, detectives watched Smith carry out a recce of the bank and surrounding area, the court had previously heard.

Tomlinson had been lying in wait at a nearby phone box waiting for the guard to arrive. At 4.50am he ran to the security man and punched and kicked him to the ground, before fleeing with a box full of money.

Getaway driver Goldsmith was waiting nearby on a high-powered motorbike, but drove off when Tomlinson was pounced upon by the waiting officers.

Police gave chase but were unable to catch Goldsmith as he rode through streets at speeds of around 80mph. However, he was arrested 40 minutes later in St Mary’s Green, East Finchley.

Smith was arrested later that same evening but police were keen to catch a fourth member of the gang - the driver of a white van seen in the vicinity in the lead up to the incident.

That man was McGee and he was arrested leaving a property in north London on October 9. His van belonged to his employer and he had been in it with Goldsmith prior to the robbery.

The security guard escaped with minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment, the court was told.

Smith was found guilty of conspiracy to commit robbery on April 24, and McGee on Monday (April 27).

Speaking after those guilty verdicts were delivered, Detective Sergeant Alan Stimson said: “This was an audacious robbery concocted by four individuals who gave no thought to their victim.

“Tomlinson subjected the security custodian to such a vicious attack he stood little chance in defending himself.

“I am pleased that the jury have found Smith and McGee guilty for the part they played in the conspiracy and Goldsmith and Tomlinson had no choice but to plead guilty due to the overwhelming evidence put before the court.

“I hope that today’s conviction serves as a warning to those who insist on carrying out this type of crime.”