19 February 2013 Last updated at 15:46 ET

Armed robber Trevor Hayes' indeterminate jail term quashed

Hayes was caught on CCTV when he robbed a bank in Watlington, Oxfordshire

An Oxfordshire bank robber has had his indeterminate prison sentence overturned after a court heard a brain tumour had changed his personality.

Trevor Hayes, from Henley-on-Thames, was jailed in 2011 after threatening people with a sawn-off shotgun and stealing £48,000 in three robberies.

But in prison his tumour was discovered and removed. His lawyers argued he was no longer a risk to the public.

His sentence has been set by the Criminal Appeal Court at 11 years.

In July 2011, the 47-year-old pleaded guilty at Oxford Crown Court to three counts of robbery, various firearm offences and arson and was imprisoned indefinitely for public protection - with a minimum tariff of seven-and-a-half years.

The court heard that on 26 October 2010 Hayes threatened a man with a shotgun in a lay-by on the A404 near Maidenhead, Berkshire, and followed it with an armed robbery in a post office in Checkendon, Oxfordshire, on 8 November.

On 3 January 2011 he stole a van from a man in a lay-by on the A404 and used it to rob a bank in Watlington, Oxfordshire, three days later.

'Highly unusual case'

Three judges sitting in London heard that Hayes, of Leaver Road, had a previous record of "petty theft", while violent action was "out of character" for him.

A report to the court said Hayes was suffering from an "abnormality of mind"

They quashed the sentence after hearing that, six months after he was jailed, a massive brain tumour was found to be the cause of his "aggressive and compulsive behaviour."

Mr Justice King said: "This is a highly unusual case.

"The consultant surgeon said the tumour had been growing for many years and pressing on the frontal lobe.

"It clearly affected this appellant's judgment at the time he committed these offences.

"The court now has a medical report containing evidence of personality changes over the years and odd, bizarre behaviour.

"He was suffering from an abnormality of mind. Had there been no tumour he would not have behaved as he did.

"One would have expected him to continue with his previous course of petty theft, not to indulge in personal threats and the use of firearms.

"There is nothing to suggest that he will again be a danger to the public."