A TEENAGE robber who terrified an elderly petrol station worker while armed with a large knife has been jailed for two years eight months.

Timothy Martin raided a Shell garage in Ham Hill, Snodland, near Rochester, in the early hours of February 10.

With his face covered with a scarf and a hood pulled over his head, he brandished a knife with a 10-inch blade and demanded cash.

Seventy-three-old Peter Wilson handed over £135. Martin also snatched a packet of cigarettes before running off.

He later tried to get a friend, Christine Hunt, to provide him with a false alibi.

The 18-year-old drug addict, of Bingley Close, Snodland, admitted robbery when he appeared at Maidstone Crown Court.

Mr Recorder Jeffrey Yearwood told him: "Although it is right to say that no injury was caused, I am sure, as you now appreciate, this must have been a terrifying experience for a man of that age, in a vulnerable position, working on his own late at night."

The judge said the robbery clearly had an element of planning.

Martin confessed to Miss Hunt after his arrest but persisted in denials, making her out to be a liar, he said. He pleaded guilty once the case had been transferred to the crown court.

Recorder Yearwood said he had decided that the youth did not pose a significant risk of further harm to the public because of his age and lack of previous convictions.

He added that the fact that Martin had run up drug debts and was under threat did not excuse or diminish the offence.

Forty-two days on remand will count towards the sentence.