A MASKED crook who tried to rob a Carlisle grocery store while carrying a blade has been jailed.
Edward Howard Collins, 40, hid his face with a scarf and hood inside the Sainsbury’s Local outlet at Scotland Road just before closing time on the night of August 7.
Holding a craft knife partially concealed within his sleeve in one hand and a Tesco plastic carrier in the other, Collins told a shocked male worker: “Put the money in the bag, now.”
During what Carlisle Crown Court heard was an “ham-fisted and amateurish” robbery bid, Collins was caught on CCTV as he leaned over a counter and made a failed attempt to prise open a till. He then fled empty-handed when challenged by a plucky female staff member who told him to “get out of here”.
He was caught the next day and also found to be a banned driver.
Collins – who had played football for Bradford City until the age of 18 – was “desperate” for money having relocated from West Yorkshire to Carlisle. He was said to “bitterly regret” the attempted robbery and knife possession crimes he admitted, along with disqualified driving. He was sentenced this afternoon (MON), and jailed for two years.
Recorder Julie Clemitson said: “This was a serious offence, one that you recognise caused a great deal of fright, no doubt, to that young man behind the till.”