A brave newsagent struck out with a bill hook after he was confronted by two masked robbers threatening him with knives, a court heard.

Philip Chambers did not have time to take the machete-like cutting tool he used for gardening out of a plastic bag but managed to strike one of the raiders on the wrist with it.

When police arrested Wayne Albone at his nearby home in Sittingbourne he had a graze on his lower left arm, Maidstone Crown Court was told.

He also had £480 in cash in his pocket, £80 in one sock and £10 in the other.

The 27-year-old father, of College Road, was jailed for five years after a jury convicted him of robbery on Wednesday.

It was his third conviction for robbery - among 32 convictions for 68 offences.

CCTV showed 65-year-old Mr Chambers’ tussle with the men at Chaucer News in Chaucer Road on December 12 last year.

The till was smashed and cash spilled out. Mr Chambers did not at first realise any money was stolen, believing the thieves were after cigarettes, but he later found £500 to 600 was missing.

Mr Chambers told how he was working in the shop in the early evening when the two men wearing balaclavas entered waving knives about 12in long.

“Mr Chambers was protecting himself and seeking to hit back. He was acting extremely bravely in doing so" - Recorder Simon Crookenden QC

Customer James Taylor, who was buying lottery tickets, was pushed to the rear of the shop, where he managed to shut himself into a small room. A second elderly customer was forced onto the floor.

Mr Chambers grabbed the bill hook and lashed out.

The till was smashed and money was “all over the place”. The robbers then fled.

An off-duty police officer saw one of them get into a Ford Focus car and pick up the other as he ran.

The officer noted the registration number and it was traced to Albone, who was using the name Ripley.

The cash was found when he was arrested the next day. He refused to answer questions and did not give evidence at his trial.

Albone, formerly of Pagett Street, Gillingham, denied robbery but the jury of eight men and four women took only just over an hour to convict him.

Recorder Simon Crookenden QC said it was a serious robbery of a small business.

“Mr Chambers was protecting himself and seeking to hit back,” he said. “He was acting extremely bravely in doing so.

“It may be this was not one of the most dangerous robberies, however, it is most alarming for those caught up in it.”

It was the third time in five weeks the business, run with his wife Jan for 20 years, had suffered misfortune.

On November 12 last year, over 4,000 cigarettes were stolen after the thieves tried to smash a window and then forced the lock.

Six days earlier a car drove into the front of the shop.

Although covered by insurance, the couple were still left out of pocket.

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