A BLACKMAILER from Okehampton has been jailed for forcing a woman to pay off a debt by going into her home and threatening her with a Rambo-style hunting knife.

Daniel Rock believed he was owed £50 by the victim’s husband and subjected her to a terrifying ordeal before making her drive him to a bank in Okehampton and take the money out. He was caught on CCTV standing behind the woman inside the bank as she withdrew the money and handed it straight to him.

Rock is a heroin addict who had stolen £4,000 worth of cigarettes in two raids on a McColls newsagent in the town to fund his habit and pay off drug debts. Rock, aged 31, admitted blackmail, having a knife in a public place, and asked for two burglaries to be considered.

He was jailed for two years and three months by Recorder Mr Paul Dunkels, QC, at Exeter Crown Court.

He told him: ‘Whatever the background to your offending, it is far from providing justification for your behaviour. The most serious aspect was using a terrifying knife. You took it out that day and used it to back up your threats and secure the money you believed you were owed. It must have been a very frightening experience for the victim, at least at the outset.’

Emily Pitts, prosecuting, said Rock had paid £50 as a non refundable to taxi driver Ed Tominey for a journey that he never took.

On March 9 this year Rock went to his home, pushed his way through the front door and threatened Mr Tominey’s wife Sarah with a large knife. He demanded £50 and made her take him to a cashpoint in the centre of town and then to her bank when she failed to take out money.

CCTV showed him walking with her to the bank, where she took out £50. He asked for £20 more and she tried to alert the cashier while checking her account and ascertaining there was not enough money.

As soon as she received the money she turned to Rock and handed him the wad of notes. They then left and by chance Rock was hit by a car which mounted the pavement at exactly that moment.

Miss Pitts said: ‘You could call it a quirk of fate, or karma, but he was hit by a speeding car on the corner just as he was leaving the bank. He was able to get up. It enabled Mrs Dominey to get back to her car before him and lock the doors. He banged on the windows but she was able to drive off.’

Rock told police he was owed the money for plastering work and that Mrs Dominey agreed to pay up without any threats, although he may have been ‘aggressive and naughty’. He said he had left the knife at the house when he was working there.

Brian Fitzherbert, defending, said Rock was actually owed money for selling the stolen cigarettes at a cut price. He accepted he had gone too far in trying to get it repaid.

He said: ‘He believed he was entitled to have the money returned to him. He had to pay his own and his father’s debts and was under pressure. You can conclude that the accident with the car was not coincidental.’

He said Rock was a heroin addict who had addressed his drugs problem during the five and a half months he had been in custody awaiting trial.