A company boss went on a violent crime spree over three days, robbing a taxi driver and attempting to rob a trucker while posing as a police officer, a court heard.

During the successful robbery involving Daniel Coates and two other men, cabbie Kazim Hassaini had a knife put to his throat and was beaten with a knuckleduster.

In the other offence, the 40-year-old father, who runs Westminster Nurseries Ltd in Swanley Village, was wearing Bermuda shorts and a t-shirt when he pretended to be a detective and terrified lorry driver Ian Vardy by throwing a brick through his cab window.

Coates, of Carlton Avenue, Dartford, was jailed for eight years and four months.

He denied trying to rob Mr Vardy but was convicted after a trial. He admitted robbing Mr Hassaini shortly before he was due to stand trial on Tuesday.

Prosecutor Richard Scott said Mr Hassaini first encountered the three men at the Hilton Hotel in Dartford on July 19 last year when they asked him to take a woman to a hotel in Maidstone.

He was given £40 to do so and it passed without incident. Later, he was asked to pick up the three men outside a house in Dartford.

Two of the men sat in the back and Coates sat in the front. He was “boisterous”, drinking from a bottle of beer, turning the music up and smoking.

They ended up in a deserted haulage yard where one of the other man put the knife to the cabbie’s throat. He tried to run away but the knifeman intercepted him and punched him several times to the face with a silver knuckleduster, breaking his teeth.

Coates got out of the taxi and punched Mr Hassaini to the back of the head. The third man grabbed £50 in takings from the cab.

"Mr Hassaini was doing no more than his job that afternoon. He was shocked, confused and bleeding. His top teeth were lost and he was in a lot of pain and discomfort" - Judge Julian Smith

Coates took the keys from the car but he wiped them and threw them down after Mr Hassaini told him the car was fitted with a tracking device.

The three fled and the victim went to get help.

Three days later in the early hours of July 22 Mr Vardy was dozing in his Tesco lorry waiting for the Dartford Tunnel to open when Coates approached and, claiming to be a detective, told him there were items that needed to be recovered.

Mr Vardy was suspicious because of the way Coates was dressed. Coates threw a brick through the window and made threats.

He was sentenced to five years and 10 months for the robbery and two-and-a-half years consecutive for the attempted robbery.

Judge Julian Smith said the robbery of Mr Hassaini must have been terrifying.

"It is perfectly clear you joined in that attack," he said. "That had taken place using a fearsome weapon.

"Mr Hassaini was doing no more than his job that afternoon. He was shocked, confused and bleeding. His top teeth were lost and he was in a lot of pain and discomfort.

"Those who plan and execute such attacks on taxi drivers can only expect punishment."

The judge said the threats Coates made to Mr Vardy were "unsettling or sinister".

"There was another individual targeted by you," he continued. "There was a degree of planning and the wit and where with all to put forward a story which you hoped would persuade him to let you into his cab."

Coates, he added, was a hard-working man with an effective business started in 2012.

After sentencing, DC Charlene Smith said: "Daniel Coates is a dangerous individual who spares little thought for the victims of his crimes.

"He will clearly do whatever it takes to get his hands on items that do not belong to him, including attacking an innocent taxi driver and pretending to be a police officer to try and trick a lorry driver into opening his vehicle.

"I am pleased he has received a lengthy prison sentence so that the general public are safe from his vicious actions."