An armed robber thrust a pair of scissors towards a shop worker's throat repeatedly screaming at him to open the till.

But drug crazed Jamie Herbert fled the Card Factory in Dover when the till locked shut and a shopper walked in and colleagues came to his aid.

CCTV played in court showed the 50-year-old approach the counter to buy a card, then suddenly pull the blade to Stevens' stomach.

Man jailed after violent robbery

When the till wouldn’t open Herbert’s yelling started as he quickly raised the blade to his victim’s throat.

The attempted robbery happened at Dover’s St James’ shopping centre at about 1.30pm on May 18.

Victim James Stevens' trauma was so severe he nearly fainted when serving a customer.

Mr Stevens told officers: “Since the incident I’m really struggling to sleep which is down to the anxiety.

“I forced myself to go back to work otherwise the anxiety would intensify.

"I have struggled to serve customers.

"I was serving a male customer who had keys pointing out, I was shaking and had to hold onto the side of the counter."

Distressed Mr Stevens was left "jumpy and anxious" according to prosecutor Eleanor Scott Davies, who explained how Herbert tried to flee.

Police clocked the crack cocaine addict making a getaway in a grey Renault Megan towards Folkestone and gave chase.

Herbert, of Prioress Walk in Dover, was identified and stopped by police in his vehicle shortly after the incident in Farthingloe Road.

He ran from police on foot, throwing a metal chair at one officer causing a minor arm injury, before they wrestled on the ground and Herbert was arrested.

The car was searched and officers found the scissors used in the incident along with the card and receipt.

Judge Simon James told Herbert he poses a "significant risk of causing serious harm" in the future, and sentenced him to six years with a two year extended licence.

Herbert was charged with robbery, assault of an emergency worker and threatening a person with a blade on May 19.

He pleaded guilty to the offences at a pre-trial preparation hearing.

The court heard Herbert had previously been convicted for six robberies, and had been sentenced to a total of 22 years in prison for the crime.

"This was a terrifying ordeal for the man who was threatened and everyone else who was nearby and witnessed the robbery..." PC Beth Gumley

Investigating officer PC Beth Gumley said: "This was a terrifying ordeal for the man who was threatened and everyone else who was nearby and witnessed the robbery.

"Herbert has shown he is a very violent man after he continued to be aggressive and assaulted one of our officers during his arrest.

"Kent Police is committed to tackling violent crime and will clamp down hard on anyone who thinks it is acceptable to arm themselves with blades and cause harm to others."

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