John McFayden was jailed for two years and eight months for his part in a robbery gang
A star of the hit Channel 4 show Big Fat Gyspy Wedding was a member of a violent robbery gang which robbed a mother and threatened to abduct her toddler.
John McFayden was in the 12-strong gang which terrorised members of the public, carrying out at least 16 robberies across London on stolen motorcycles.
The ruthless gang gained notoriety after their final attack was highlighted on social media by Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden, 48.
The thugs had demanded Ms Holden’s neighbour hand over her jewellery in Richmond and threatened to abduct and hurt her toddler if she refused.
McFayden starred in the hit Channel 4 show in 2012, which featured him and his partner Cheyenne Pidgely exchange their vows in front of 300 members of the gypsy community.
The young couple from Walton-On-Thames in Surrey had met when John, then 17, ‘grabbed’ Cheyenne – then only 14 years old – pushed her in to the car park up against a fence and demanded she kiss him.
McFayden and his gang were yesterday jailed for a total of 64 years, with the 24-year-old and his brother each jailed for two years and eight months.
Moped raid crimes in London plunged by 52 per cent in a year after McFayden and his gang were arrested, police said yesterday.
The brazen gang even stole £170,000 of BBC camera equipment used to film the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race, after one attempt on Putney Bridge failed.
McFayden starred in the hit Channel 4 show in 2012, which featured him and his partner Cheyenne Pidgely exchange their vows in front of 300 members of the gypsy community
The ruthless gang gained notoriety after their final attack was highlighted on social media by Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden (pictured)
As befits Gypsy tradition, which dictates that newlyweds start trying for a baby right after their wedding, Cheyenne discovered she was pregnant just one month after their nuptials.
They married after a two-month courtship, with Cheyenne joined by 10 bridesmaids in purple dresses, while her own dress – adorned with Swarovski crystals – was so large she struggled to fit through the door.
They were transported to the church in a white stretch Hummer and the couple and their 300 guests enjoyed a lobster wedding breakfast.
Nine of the crooks in McFayden’s gang – which carried out raids between November 2017 and June 2018 – had a staggering 383 convictions for previous offences between them, Kingston Crown Court heard.
Terrified Phoebe Reule was walking hand-in-hand with her three-year-old son when four men in black full-face helmets swooped.
She grabbed her child and ran into the road to escape while the gang were chased away by builders brandishing scaffolding poles.
They also snatched a moped from police in Fulham after letting off two fire extinguishers as a distraction.
Three crooks riding on one bike were arrested in May 2018 after a 90-minute high-speed police chase across ten London boroughs. The trio drove the wrong way up the A40, trying to film their escape attempt.
The young couple from Walton-On-Thames in Surrey had met when John, then 17, ‘grabbed’ Cheyenne – then only 14 years old – pushed her in to the car park up against a fence and demanded she kiss him
Yesterday the gang, aged between 18 and 36, were sentenced for 12 offences, including conspiracy to rob, burgle and steal, criminal damage and handling stolen goods.
Judge Georgina Kent, sentencing, told the gang: ‘You have caused a great deal of harm, loss and damage to a large number of victims.
‘Apart from the financial cost, there’s the human cost in anxiety, distress and fear caused to the victims. Your offending has cost a great deal in police resources. These were very professional, planned and organised offences.’
The court heard that ringleader Terry Marsh, 32, already had convictions for 78 offences including burglaries between 2003 and 2014.
The judge said of the attack on Miss Reule by McFadyen, his brother Isaac, Marsh, and Weller: ‘It’s striking that the robbers were so confident that they targeted their victims in full public view.’