A ROBBER who was brought to justice after his picture appeared in the Daily Echo has been jailed for four years.

Yunus Patel, 43, from Churchill Road, Poole, was caught on camera during an armed raid at the Spar shop at Upton Triangle on March 1 this year.

Carolyn Branford-Wood, prosecuting at Bournemouth Crown Court, said two female assistants had been about to close the store when Patel and another robber struck.

Patel’s accomplice, who was armed with a gun, has not been traced.

Ms Branford Wood added: “One of the women was forced to the back of the store where lockers were searched.

“The till drawers were emptied and around £2,000 was taken, along with cigarettes from the display.”

The court heard how one of the victims was having difficulty sleeping and had struggled to return to work after the robbery.

“When she returned she was extremely panicky and tried to avoid working at the till.

“When on the late-shift she is fearful the same thing will happen again.

“She finds herself reliving the incident and can see the robbers in her mind’s eye.”

In a statement, the other victim said that she was ‘a nervous wreck’ and had needed to take medication following the raid.

Defending, Robert Grey stressed that only Patel’s accomplice had been armed, adding: “It was not the most sophisticated crime; his behaviour was bizarre.

“When a customer came into the shop he pulled his mask down and asked the shop assistant to serve her.

“His face was clearly shown on the CCTV footage and published in the newspaper.

“His problem has been drugs and he has struggled with his addiction to crack cocaine all his adult life. Mr Patel is remorseful and wishes he could apologise.”

Sentencing Patel, Judge Samuel Wiggs said: “This was a serious offence, a weapon was used; you must have known it was there.

“It must have been extremely frightening for these two young women.”