Gun pointed in her face during robbery

sessing an imitation firearm. He also admitted burglary and theft.

Prosecutors said the burglary happened on June 8 last year at the Low Cost Motor Company on Chepstow Road in the early hours of the morning.

The court heard the director left the premises secure, but came in the next morning to find car windows smashed and his office ransacked.

Ms Lane said Thompson caused £4,840 of damage and stole £2,440 of goods, including sat-navs and tools.

The victim said he had been running the business for 17 years, having built it up from scratch, and described it as his “pride and joy”.

He said he felt “totally gutted” by the burglary, adding: “My business has been turned upside down.”

Thompson denied any involvement in the burglary, but his fingerprints were found inside a vehicle. As he left his police interview, he said to an officer: “Will you apologise to him for me?”

A week later, on June 15 last year, he stole a phone and laptop worth £1,500 from reception at the Ibis hotel in Newport .

Prosecutors said the hotel manager recognised him, having asked him to leave a few days before.

Thompson admitted 14 counts of shoplifting, starting when he stole two bottles of vodka worth £78 from Tesco Express on March 15 this year.

Three days later he stole another two bottles of vodka from Londis, and three days after that drove off without paying for more than £50-worth of fuel from a garage in Bettws.

Over the next two months he stole fuel, whisky and lager worth hundreds of pounds from various shops and service stations.

The defendant pleaded guilty to taking a vehicle without consent, driving while disqualified, without insurance and causing criminal damage.

Prosecutors said a sales rep was standing next to his Mercedes Sprinter van on Aberthaw Rise on June 21 when Thompson asked him for a lighter.

The court heard the defendant drove off in the van, which had £6,000 worth of goods inside, as well as the victim’s wallet and iPad.

Ms Lane said he had been before the courts for 82 previous offences.

Speaking over the video link from HM Prison Cardiff, Thompson said: “I’m sorry for what I’ve done. I deserve what I get.”

Mr Williams said his client, who the court heard is addicted to alcohol, sought to apologise to the Spar workers as he was committing the robbery.

He added: “He instructed me specifically to apologise to the ladies in question for the distress he caused them.”

Judge Jeremy Jenkins noted the effect on the robbery victims had been “profound and long-lasting”.

He added: “They were absolutely terrified and feared for their lives. They genuinely thought they were going to get shot.”

A pre-sentence report judged Thompson to present a high risk of reoffending and a serious risk of harm to members of the public.

Judge Jenkins observed the escalation in his offending was “particularly worrying”.

He told the defendant: “I must now sentence you for a large number of serious offences. I conclude that you present as a dangerous offender and I must now pass a sentence upon you to protect members of the public from serious harm.”

Thompson was given a 10-and-ahalf-year extended sentence.

He must serve at least two thirds of the seven-and-a-half-year custodial term before he can be considered for release by the parole board, and then will have a three-year extended licence period.