A male prostitute has been jailed today after blackmailing a top Cambridge academic into paying £6,000 to stop details of their sex acts being revealed to the academic’s wife.

The scientist of the university met the prostitute, Phillip Ellis, in the Newnham area of Cambridge, the court was told.

In their first encounter, the academic paid Ellis £10 to perform a sexual act on him in the Paradise Woods area.

Two weeks later, the Academic paid another £40 for full sex.

However the 26-year-old university drop-out Ellis, then demanded £4,000 from the elderly Cambridge don.

Sara Walker, prosecuting, said: ”He said he knew who he was and knew he was married. The defendant told him he knew his wife’s name and some details about his son. The victim then met the defendant in St Mary’s Street and handed over £200, saying he could not withdraw £3,800 because the cash machine would not let him.

“He later went to the bank and withdrew £3,800 and handed it over.”

Ellis then requested a further £2,000 from the academic after claiming he had compromising mobile phone footage. The academic met this request.

Things took a turn for the worse when Ellis visited the academic’s house in June of last year. The academic, seeing Ellis walking up the driveway, collapsed and told his wife the details of the sexual acts.

Ellis was arrested in October of last year after getting into an altercation with a college gardener.

Judge Jonathan Howarth sentenced Ellis to 30 months in prison for blackmail, despite his defense arguing that he was in a fragile emotional state.