A MASKED robber who held up a shop girl at knifepoint has been jailed for three years and four months.

Benjamin Holt went to the Co-op, in Groundwell Road, when the young woman was alone in the store on a Sunday night.

The 30-year-old then produced a chef’s knife from his bag and demanded she open the till and hand over the notes, Swindon Crown Court was told.

Jane Terry, prosecuting, said although three members of staff were working in the shop, two were in the back room when Holt came in around t about 8pm on March 15.

He approached her and she saw he had a balaclava covering most of his face but she noticed "he had blue eyes which she described as quite narrow and close together".

Miss Terry said: He was carrying what she described as a man-bag. She let herself into the area behind the till which is protected and slightly raised. She said in her statement that the defendant had said: "Give me all the notes in the till."

She said: "As he said this to me he had a knife in his hand. I think it was his left hand. He pointed it at me.”

The victim said she thought the blade was about 30cm long and described the knife as "huge".

She said she could not open the till without scanning something so he grabbed a marked down loaf of bread and told her to use that.

After handing over around £500 in £20 and £10 notes the robber said: "That’s enough," and put the knife in his pocket and fled.

The incident was caught on CCTV and police went to his flat where after a struggle they found the knife he had used and arrested him.

As a consequence of the incident Miss Terry said the victim, who is studying for a degree, had suffered sleepless nights and had to alter her work patterns.

Her studies had also been affected and the store had also employed a security guard to give peace of mind to the staff.

Holt, of Tudor Walk, Walcot, pleaded guilty to robbery and possessing an article with a blade or point.

Rob Ross, defending, said his client had been a drug addict and regularly shoplifted to feed his habit.

He said he had been clean for a year or so when he was in a relationship with his girlfriend and working as a painter and decorator.

“Unfortunately that relationship broke down, he left the house. Consequently he had nowhere to live. He stopped working,” he said.

“He started using again and as night follows day he was quickly again a sofa-surfing junkie.”

He said he had planned to go back to Weston-super-Mare, where he is originally from, and decided to carry out the robbery to get cash for a train ticket.

Jailing him, Judge Peter Blair QC said: “Here you were selecting a convenience store at night, choosing a moment when a female staff member was alone and serving.

“Here you were at a store you had chosen by walking some distance, with a knife to threaten to get cash, wearing or pulling something over your face to later prevent you being identified.”