A GANG of thugs has been jailed for a vicious robbery where a man was wrestled to the ground and robbed of his winnings from the bookies.

David Osborne had been out celebrating a lucky day at the bookies with his brother after winning between close to £400.

He was leaving Talk nightclub, Lucy Road, Southend, when he was attacked by the trio and knocked unconscious.

Donamichie Scarlett, 23, Akiff Ali, 20, and Ervin Balliu, 20, spotted Mr Osborne leaving the club and walking across Seaways car park.

Ali and Balliu forced him to the ground and Ali forced him into a headlock while Balliu rifled through his pockets.

Scarlett, who was preoccupied eating some food, eventually sauntered over and helped restrain Mr Osborne by standing on his foot.

Prosecutor Charlotte Davison said: “Mr Osborne was out with his brother.

“He was celebrating a win at the bookmakers and said he went to Revolution before meeting a friend and moving to Talk nightclub.

“He was somewhat flashing the cash while he was in the club - not being obnoxious but celebrating a win and buying drinks for people he knew.

“Mr Osborne accepts he was drunk by the time he left Talk.

“He left and began to make his way home across the car park.

“He says he remembers leaving and the next thing he remembers is being knocked out on to the floor and waking up to find people rifling through his pockets.”

Police arrived on scene very quickly as they had already been monitoring the incident on their mobile CCTV devices, having been made aware by council operators.

They were watching the robbery unfold while making their way to the scene and on arrival apprehended Scarlett immediately while Balliu and Ali made off and were arrested after a short chase.

All three admitted robbery and Balliu was additionally charged with carrying an offensive weapon after officers found a lock-knife in his waistband when he was arrested. He admitted the offence and the court heard he carried it because friends had been stabbed in the past and he wanted it for protection.

Scarlett and Ali were jailed for three years and four months in prison while Balliu was sentenced to three years for robbery and an additional six months for carrying a knife.

Det Con Andrew Coles, of Southend CID, said: “This case is a fantastic example of how we use our mobile phones to respond to live incidents.We were able to arrive at the scene and make these arrests in less than a minute. I hope this outcome offers some justice to the victim, who had done nothing more than leave a nightclub.”