THIS is the moment a cashier "may not forget for the rest of her life" as a man pulled a serrated knife on her.

Robert Brown brandished the weapon in the vain hope of robbing McColls in Longstock Crescent, in Totton.

"Shocked" shop assistant Sarah Gong pleaded with him that she couldn't open the till and moments later whilst leaving the store he cried to manager Jenny Partridge: "I need some help - I just tried to hold up the shop."

Southampton Crown Court heard that Brown, 36, arrived at the shop at around 5.15pm on February 28.

Prosecutor Timothy Akers told the court that as a customer left the till, Brown got the large knife out and demanded money.

He said: "Miss Gong said that at this point the could not have been more than a foot away from her and that Brown was pointing it at her chest.

"Brown said 'open the till I want the money. But she explained she could not open the till because only a supervisor could do it."

Mr Akers added: "The defendant walked out of the store carrying the knife. When outside he came into contact with Ms Partridge who was just finishing her cigarette.

"He told her that 'I need some help I just tried to hold up the shop' and as he waited for the police to arrive he started crying."

A victim impact statement from Miss Gong said the incident had "shocked her".

It said: "I never thought working within retail something like this would have happened to me.

"I have worked in a customer service role for many years and nothing like this has ever happened to me."

She added: "He obviously needs help."

The court heard that at this point, Brown had been struggling severely with mental health issues.

Judge Gary Burrell QC said: "This was a very frightening incident for those ladies and you can tell this by what one of them said.

"She may not forget this for the rest of her life - it was terribly frightening."

He added: "You have an opportunity to try and resolve the issues you have. Good luck."

Brown, of Glebe Court, Fair Oak, was sentenced to 20 months imprisonment, suspended for two years. He was placed on an electronic curfew between the hours of 7pm and 7am for six months.

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