The getaway driver in a plot to rob cash-in-transit security guards of thousands of pounds has failed in an appeal against his sentence.

James Mattin, 20, of Nelson Street, East Ham, was jailed for six years at Snaresbrook Crown Court last October after he was found guilty of conspiracy to rob.

He appealed, but was told by three senior judges at the Court of Appeal that he had played a “prominent” role in the conspiracy and deserved what he got.

Mattin was the getaway driver in two east London raids, one which failed at a Boots store in Beckton on March 16, 2009 and a more successful attempt later that day at Blockbuster in Hornchurch.

During that incident, a security guard was flying-kicked to the ground as he left the video shop, before his assailants escaped with a box containing just over �5,000.

Mattin, who already had three robbery convictions, was arrested after he was spotted driving the getaway vehicle – a car stolen specifically for use in the plot.

He said he had taken a subordinate role, had not been involved in any of the violence and was paid only �200 for his part.

On Wednesday, his lawyers argued that his sentence was too long, his 16-year-old accomplice, who delivered the flying kick, getting only three-and-a-half years.

But Lady Justice Hallett upheld Mattin’s sentence saying: “He was not only the getaway driver, he was the driver of a car that had been stolen specifically for the purpose of committing serious offences of robbery on security guards responsible for transporting cash.

“They are particularly vulnerable, given the nature of their job.”

The appeal was dismissed.