An armed burglar who forced a dominatrix to hand over cash she kept in her “dungeon” has been jailed for seven years and four months.

Emilo Beheshti, 20, burst into “mistress” Stacey Gupta’s flat with an imitation pistol and held her prisoner for more than an hour while two accomplices ransacked her property.

Miss Gupta was hurled to the ground, punched and threatened with rape during the attack at 11pm on September 9.

Student Beheshti, of Herbert Road, Plaistow, took a knife and used it to slash one of her rubber dresses to pieces, Snaresbrook Crown Court heard.

The gang had forced their way into her flat in Commercial Road, Limehouse, by ringing the doorbell just after a client had left, knowing she only answered the door to confirmed appointments.

They demanded she hand over her profits, but Beheshti said the �60 she had in her safe wasn’t enough, given the �50 an hour rate she advertised on her website.

The victim was threatened with knives as her flat was searched and three mobile phones, an iPod with speakers and a laptop were stolen.

The burglars asked if she had any drugs, but she explained she only had Viagra.

They then demanded her bank card and PIN number, threatening to come back and kill her if it was wrong, before leaving the flat.

Miss Gupta seized the opportunity to run to her neighbour’s apartment and call the police, who arrived just as the gang were returning and arrested the defendant.

He was found on a landing with two bags containing the victim’s property and made no comment at interview, but later admitted aggravated burglary.

His accomplices were also arrested but released without charge.

Passing sentence, Judge Timothy Lamb QC said Beheshti had committed “an horrific offence” and left his victim traumatised.

He said: “Your part in these offences was as the leader, or so the victim perceived it to be.”

Terry Munyard, defending, said Beheshti was a university student who had been struggling to cope with his debts. He said: “This offence is shocking and I think it’s also genuinely tragic. You will know that he had a difficult childhood – he was abandoned by his father and his mother suffers from very poor health.

“He discovered it was actually quite difficult to live on the student loan and as a result he started to fall in with some of his old friends and was tempted to join in this offence.”

Beheshti, pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.