'Stupid' Vegas plan thief jailed

A Devon man who flew to Las Vegas to play poker when he should have been doing unpaid community work has been sentenced to three months in prison.

Scott Henry was told by the judge at Exeter Crown Court: "If there was a sentence for stupidity you would be serving life imprisonment."

Henry, 23, of Abbey Crescent, Torquay, had been given a community order after admitting a raid on a nightclub.

The court heard he flew to the US in the hope of making money playing poker.

'Taking the mickey'

Henry appeared in court charged with a breach of the community order work requirement

Recorder Frank Abbott said: "You have taken the mickey out of the system and have displayed a blatant disregard for the law.

"People would think I was daft if I did not make an example of you and send you straight to prison."

The court was told when the probation service rang him to find out why he had not turned up for a work session his mother told them he had "run out to get a hair cut before flying to Las Vegas".

Nick Bradley, defending, said Henry had an interest in gambling online and had won a seat at a poker game in Las Vegas.

He spent £700 on an air ticket and flew there in the hope of making his fortune.

Henry had been given the community order with 140 hours unpaid work after admitting he and two others stole a safe containing over £6,000.