A MAN has been jailed after he robbed a Co-op store at the start of the year.

Mark Willmott was sentenced at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday, October 29, for a robbery at the Lawling Avenue Co-op in Heybridge.

He had been charged with the robbery which occurred on January 9 this year.

The prosecution said Willmott, of Wilsons Court, High Street, Maldon, had entered the Co-op at 8.30pm and had pushed open the door to the tills.

He then - with a broken bottle in his hand - demanded money from the staff at the till and took off with the till drawer.

No one was injured though the victim working at the till at the time told police he thought he was "going to die".

The incident was caught on CCTV.

The 27-year-old admitted to the charge on May 5.

His defence told the judge in court on Friday her client is "different" when not using drugs and while in custody has been working hard to make himself employable.

She also said that at the time of the offence Willmott was in a "disturbed state".

Willmott had also written a "careful" letter expressing remorse and apologising to the victims of the robbery.

During the sentencing, the judge said: "This was without doubt a terrifying ordeal for those involved."

While he recognised the defendant had a difficult background and claims to have been clean for 9 months, he said there is still a "serious risk" of harm in the future.

Due to this Willmott was given an extended sentence of five years to protect the public with four of those years to be spent in jail.

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