A man accused of posing as a client to steal earnings from prostitutes around Kingston has gone on trial.

Daniel Fuller, 25, from Clifton Road, South Norwood, stands accused of conspiracy to rob on 16 occasions from June to December 2005.

He also faces a charge of possession of an imitation firearm with intent to commit a crime and a further charge of blackmail.

He denied all the charges when he appeared at Kingston Crown Court yesterday for the start of the trial, which is expected to last five weeks.

Prosecutor Kenneth Millett claimed that Fuller led a series of gang robberies around south London, including addresses in Surbiton, New Malden and Wimbledon.

He said Fuller targeted discreet "massage parlour" operations in quiet suburban areas where typically there would be one working girl and one receptionist.

Mr Millett told the jury the robberies were carried out by Fuller, who would phone the parlours' receptionist to make an appointment, but on arriving would say he had to leave immediately.

When the door was opened for him to leave he would be joined by one or two other men who would help him to take cash and mobile phones from the sex worker and receptionist.

Mr Millett said: "The men robbing them were not on a moral mission to clean up prostitution, but to make a profit from what they saw as easy, vulnerable targets."

The court heard that, spurred on by a succession of robberies which gained the men around £150 cash and mobile phones each time, Fuller went on to demand one woman for a weekly payment of cash.

Mr Millett said: "By December 2005 Fuller decided he would start a protection racquet by blackmailing owners into providing him with weekly payments."

One of the offences happened on the afternoon of August 15, 2005, at a flat near Surbiton station. The prosecution said a female receptionist answered a call from Fuller, who booked an immediate appointment. The court heard that when Fuller arrived he pushed the bedroom door open holding a hammer, then said "give me the f***ing money."

He held the hammer against the woman's head, before taking £170 cash from under a rug. When he was told there were no more takings he ran off.

The trial continues.