TWO gay men who went to a well-known cottaging area in the Cotswolds to meet other homosexuals were 'arrested' and blackmailed by a gang of bogus police officers, a court heard.

One of the victims, 36-year-old businessman 'Mr A' was handcuffed and told by his abductors that they had a gun, Gloucester crown court was told.

He was made to hand over the £160 he had on him at the time.

The second victim, Mr B, was a 78-year-old man who was forced to withdraw £150 from a nearby garage cash machine to pay off the fake cops, said prosecutor Derek Ryder.

Both men were threatened that if they did not pay up they would be held in custody and prosecuted for cottaging offences at the Shab Hill beauty spot near Birdlip.

Jack Severn, 19, of Carlyle Grove, Springbank, Cheltenham, and Tommy Hopton, 23, of Howell road, Cheltenham, admitted conspiracy to blackmail.

Hopton, said to be the leader of the fake police gang, admitted being involved in the offences against both Mr A and Mr B and was jailed for four years and four months.

Severn, described as a 'monkey' in Hopton's gang, admitted only the offence against Mr A and was sentenced to three years detention.

A third youth who was arrested has not been proceeded against by the prosecution.

Derek Rydler, prosecuting, told the court: "This case involves the organised blackmail of homosexual men who had gone to Shab Hill. The defendants pretended to be police officers to get information about them and see how far they could blackmail them."

Both victims reported their ordeals to police, which had occurred on October 15 and 16.

Mr Ryder said: "Their charade about being police officers was very convincing. They were very well rehearsed and the big one (Hopton) seemed to know particularly what to say.

"Mr A gave his details because he was in handcuffs, Hopton then pretended to ring Mr A's home, saying 'We have to prove you are who you say you are.'

"Hopton then said 'There's an alternative - have you heard about plea bargaining? How much would it mean to you if you were not arrested?'

"Mr A did not answer so the men started to drive him towards his home. He then asked about 'plea bargaining' and Hopton said 'turn off the tape' as if the whole incident was being recorded.

"He said 'We've got a police social fund and it could do with some money in it. How about £3,000?'

"He pretended to make a call to a police sergeant to see if that was acceptable. At one stage they got Mr A out of the car and handcuffed him to a gate, gave him a cigarette and told him he could have time to think.

"At one point he said 'We are not the police, we are the Johnsons' (a reference to a notorious criminal family in Cheltenham) but then added 'We're not the Johnsons, we're a gang from up north but we intend to become like them.'

"They said they would leave him for fifteen minutes to decide what to do. They got into their car, They then went back to him and said 'We want £10,000.'

"He said he had £400 in his house, They searched him and found £120 on him. They took it.

"At one stage they said they had a gun and asked if he wanted to see it. Later an imitation gun was found in the car boot by the police.

"Mr A said the 'fat one' (Hopton) was in charge, making all the decisions and the others were 'just monkeys.'

"They took Mr A back to Shab Hill, took the cuffs off him and demanded he empty his pockets. They found he had £40 in coins and as they were sorting through it he took his opportunity to get away and drive off in his van.

"'I was shaking like hell, like crazy,'" he later told the police.

"He got home and told his partner what had happened. By that time the defendants had already phoned his home asking to speak to him about 'unfinished business,'

"He then went to Gloucester police station.

"Mr B was in a car on Shab Hill with another elderly man when a black Mondeo pulled up by them and invited them back to their place in Birdlip. They followed the car.

"When it stopped one of the men got out and told him 'Get out of the car, sir. You are under arrest. We shall take you to Gloucester police station where you will be charged with the offence and then remanded in custody and taken to Gloucester prison until the case comes up.'

"Mr B says he was in a state of shock, The other man with him was crying and pleading to be freed.

"One of them said 'The alternative is we can give you a fine so you don't have to go to court. It will be £1,000.'

"Mr B said he could not afford that. It was then negotiated down to £150 each They were told to write down their names addresses and dates of birth and were then taken to a Shell garage cashpoint.

"That evening Mr B's phone rang. It was Hopton saying 'When do you want us to bring you the final paperwork?' He said he would go to Mr B's house. This scared Mr B and he went to the police the next day."

Police checked the vehicle details and found the car was Hopton's, said Mr Ryder. Handcuffs were found in the glove box and Hopton's mobile phone had the victims' numbers on it.

In a victim statement 'Mr A' said he was terrified to be at the mercy of the men when the cuffs were put on him . Mr B's health had deteriorated since the incident, said Mr Ryder.

David Miller, for Hopton, said he accepted the offences were 'wicked and evil' but they had been carried out in a 'cack handed, amateurish, stupid, pathetic and ill conceived' way.

Hopton had spent three months in custody after arrest. He was high on cannabis at the time of the offence but had cleaned up while in prison and was now a changed man.

"He has a young family and he wants to get back to being a good father and responsible partner as soon as possible," said Mr Miller.

For Severn, James Byrne said he was only involved with the offence against Mr A and was not the chief protagonist in what went on.

Severn's father, who works in security, had now taken a firm grip of his son to get him back on the straight and narrow, Mr Byrne added.

Judge William Hart told the men the offences were far from sophisticated but they were determined and their behavour had been 'worrying.'

"You picked on Mr A because he was in an area frequented by homosexual men and I suspect you believed he would be likely to comply and fearful of the consequences if he did not," said the judge.

"He was handcuffed, made the subject of a false arrest, bundled into a vehicle and taken away in it. It must have been an extremely frightening experience for him in many different ways.

"One can only imagine what must have been going through his mind at the time."

The judge said the victims were preyed upon because of their perceived sexual orientation but it was not a case where there was hostility demonstrated towards them within the meaning of the hate crime laws.

Hopton was jailed for 4years 4months with 135 days to be deducted because of the time he has spent in custody on remand and on curfew. Severn was given 3 years with 84 days deducted for the same reason.