A DRUG user who twice told a Sainsbury's employee "I will shoot you" during a teatime robbery has been jailed.

Masked and hooded Thomas Hugh Robinson had his hand inside his coat by his waistband as the terrified employee opened the till, said Brooke Morrison, prosecuting.

The 24-year-old robber grabbed hundreds of pounds and fled.

But he had left his fingerprints and his attempts to dispose of his disguise away from the shop were captured on CCTV.

The employee told police he was "very uncomfortable about returning to the till" and that he had found the whole experience "very stressful."

Robinson, of Coggan Close, South Bank, pleaded guilty to robbery and was jailed for 16 months at York Crown Court.

The Recorder of York, Judge Sean Morris, said he had put the shop employee through an "horrendous experience".

For Robinson, solicitor advocate Neal Kutte said he had been involved in drugs and drug dealers.

"He had got himself into a bit of a hole. He has done something very stupid and he must pay the price," he said.

Ms Morrison said Robinson walked into the Sainsbury's store at the corner of Bishopthorpe Road and Scarcroft Road at 5.45pm on January 23.

At the time he was on bail for a charge of violence of which he was later acquitted.

He went up to the till and told the shop employee there: "Open the drawer or I will shoot you."

The security measures in place meant that opening the till drawer took 10 seconds and during that time, Robinson repeated his threat.

He held himself as though he had a gun on him but didn't produce one.

He had a hood pulled up over his head and a Covid mask over his lower face, which he discarded outside the shop, as he did the coat which was wearing.

As he did so, his actions were caught on CCTV.

Viewing the shop's internal CCTV, police saw that he had touched items in the shop, and when they were checked by forensic workers, they found Robinson's fingerprints on them.

Police tracked him down and arrested him.

He had three minor convictions from 10 years earlier.

Mr Kutte said it was not a sophisticated robbery. Robinson had worn a distinctive white coat and had left his fingerprints behind.

"He has shown genuine remorse," said the solicitor advocate. "He is sorry for what he has done. It is out of character."

Robinson was a follower, not a leader, he said.

The defendant wrote a letter from prison to the judge which said, Mr Kutte, referred to issues with drugs and drug dealers.

Robinson's father, who had had concerns about him and possible involvement with drugs, was in court to support him.