A MASKED bandit tried to rob a man with a machete after the victim was enticed to Newport to buy a motorbike offered for sale on Facebook.

Jermaine Davies, 27, threatened to stab Andrew Burns-Mackie and demanded he handed over the £8,000 agreed for the Yamaha bike.

The victim had been lured to Newport from Oxford, and another man who was with the defendant tried to lead him into woodland off Penny Crescent in Malpas.

There was no motorcycle - although the bike advertised did indeed exist, but it was 150 miles away in Hertfordshire and belonged to its innocent owner with no link to the crime.

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Cat Jones, prosecuting, told Newport Crown Court: “The defendant turned to the complainant and pulled out a large machete-style knife and said, ‘Hand over the cash’.

“The victim at this point attempted to run but stumbled in that attempt to get away.

“He noticed the other male at that point had made his way towards him, cutting off his escape route.”

The man was then grabbed by them and they tussled.

The prosecutor said: “The defendant's accomplice was shouting, ‘Give us the money. Where is the money?’

“The complainant said the money was left in his car.

“The defendant and his accomplice went through the complainant's pockets, pulling out his wallet and causing his jeans to rip.

“The complainant's friend was witness to this and was beeping the horn in an attempt to disrupt the incident.

“Both individuals responded by saying, ‘Bring us the money or we'll do him.’”

The would-be robbers then ran off empty-handed when people began coming out of their homes.

Davies was described as being dressed all in black with the hood on his jacket up and wearing a black baseball cap and balaclava.

The machete was eight to 10 inches long.

Davies, of Tone Square, Bettws, Newport pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and possession of a bladed article in public on the day of his trial.

The offences were committed on April 13.

The defendant has 25 previous convictions for 52 offences, including similar convictions.

He had been made the subject of two suspended prison sentences at the time of the incident.

The court heard that Davies suffers with a mental disorder and wasn’t properly medicated when the offences took place.

Sol Hartley representing himself said that his client had admitted being “out of his head on heroin and crack cocaine”.

The judge, Recorder Christopher Felstead, jailed Davies for four years.