A MURDERER who committed armed robberies while out on day release from prison faces at least another six years behind bars.

Joseph Williams was sentenced to a minimum of 12 years for battering Ayodele Odamttun to death with a claw hammer in 1995 while on crack cocaine.

As he approached the end of his sentence, he was allowed out of prison to work as a lorry driver.

It was during this time he robbed bookies in south London, between February and June last year.

Williams targeted a Coral betting shop in Bromley Hill, Downham, on June 30 last year, as well as bookmakers in Peckham and Croydon.

He wore a mask and used a concealed spanner strapped to a paintbrush hidden in a carrier bag to threaten staff, who believed it was a firearm.

The 52-year-old, who has a gambling problem, made off with minimal amounts in most instances, and nothing in others.

He was sentenced at the Old Bailey on Monday, September 19, after previously being found guilty of eight counts of robbery, three attempted robberies, and eight counts of possession of an imitation firearm.

He was jailed indefinitely for public protection with a minimum term of six years.

This means he will only be released once the parole board believe he no longer poses a risk to the public.

The judge, Recorder Joanna Greenberg who sentenced Williams, said: "The question as to whether or not you are a dangerous offender or not is academic as you are serving a life sentence for murder.

"I agree with the assessment of your parole officer who has been dealing with you for four years.

“You are a danger to the public and your sentence reflects that.”

Recorder Greenberg said that Williams had lead a "life of offending" since his first conviction in 1972.

Williams, from Bolton, Lancashire, was eventually caught for the spate of robberies in May when he accidentally shunted a police car in the delivery van he was using as an £18,000 a year employee for J&M Insulation in Croydon.

Detective Chief Inspector Paul Johnson of the Tower Bridge Flying Squad said: "There is no doubt that Williams is a dangerous man who presented a real threat to the safety of the public in general and to betting shop staff and customers in particular."