THE leader of an armed east London gang who used a firefighter's uniform as a disguise during robberies has been jailed for 18 years.

Darren Lloyd, 36, was one of the eight-strong team which carried out 30 robberies on shops, bookies, and cash vans.

During the nine-month crime spree in 2010, they twice raided City Builders in Bounces Road, Edmonton, and stole money being collected from the Total Garage in Lancaster Road, Enfield.

Lloyd recruited former police officer Gary Griffith to wear a real firefighter's uniform during some of the robberies, to gain the trust of the victims.

In some of the raids, the men armed themselves with imitation guns and a claw hammer when demanding cash from their victims. They are believed to have stolen around £200,000.

Lloyd, from Dagenham, was sentenced on Friday, January 6, to 12 years in prison for each of nine counts of conspiracy to rob, 14 years for conspiracy to rob using a knife, and 16 years for the same offence with a gun.

The prison terms will run concurrently, as well as with four ten-year jail terms for possession of an imitation firearm.

Lloyd was also given an additional two years in prison after police found cannabis at his home along with £10,000 in cash.

Griffiths, 42, Jason Stacey, 38, Ben Garforth, 20, Peter Henderson, 29, all from Dagenham, and Joshua McEvilly, 29, and Frank Nesbitt, 20, both from Romford, have admitted their part in the robberies.

They are due to be sentenced on January 27 at the Old Bailey, along with Russell Williams, 39, from Cheshunt, who was a serving firefighter and has admitted supplying the uniform.