A teenage thug robbed a mother in her home and then contacted her from jail in an attempt to get her to drop charges against him, a court heard.

Then aged 16, he targeted the victim claiming her son owed him money.

The teenager, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, first stole £200 from the woman after going to a cashpoint with her.

Three weeks later he demanded another £500 while armed with a knife, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

He was arrested three days later and while on remand at HMP Cookham Wood in Rochester he wrote to the victim apologising and urged her withdraw her allegations.

The teenager, now 17, from Strood, was sentenced to three-and-a-half years youth custody after admitting robbery, attempted robbery, perverting the course of justice and possessing cannabis.

A judge branded him “threatening, intimidating and arrogant” when passing sentence this week.

The court was told the teenager went to the woman’s home in Rochester on January 2 and claimed her son owed £700.

After leaving with £200, he returned on January 24 and demanded the other £500.

Prosecutor Don Ramble said the victim saw him in her garden in Wilson Avenue. He tried to grab her mobile phone through the kitchen window.

Brandishing a knife, he said: “**** this” and started to climb through the window.

“I threatened to call the police,” she said in a statement. “The doors were locked and it was just him and me in the house.”

The youth snatched her mobile phone. She fled upstairs, but he followed and in a rage pushed her onto her bed.

He told her she would get her phone back when she handed over the money.

Police arrived on the scene after being alerted by the woman’s son.

She said she was left feeling extremely vulnerable.

“He has intimidated my son and I’m afraid he could come back to the house,” she said. “This time I saw a knife. If he is capable of carrying it, is he capable of using it?”

The teenager told a probation officer while on remand: “The sentence is all part of God’s plan and a setback leading on to greater things.”

Judge Julian Smith said the teenager, who has previous convictions for robbery, had been aggressive and intimidating, leaving his victim fearing for both herself and her son.

“She was terrified,” he said. “Security in her own home was forfeited and the level of aggression you were showing at the age of 16 was astonishing. You were in a rage.

“You wrote a letter which in the context was distressing and clearly intended to be persuasive and intimidating.

“You knew better than to do that but chose to do it. It doesn’t show naivety but an arrogance. This was calculated conduct and remorseless.”

The judge added: “I am concerned for your future, what you expect and what you will do. It is plainly clear to me what you are capable of.

“I accept you are very able but whether you will live up to that potential, intellect and ability is entirely within your gift.

“Your poor upbringing had a part to play in this current position. But you chose to behave in this way and you understood what you were doing.”

A restraining order banning the youth from contacting the victim and her son was made for eight years.