A FORMER solider has been jailed after he admitted robbing a Flintshire betting shop armed with a Stanley knife.

Christopher Leslie Davidson, 38, of Henry Taylor Street in Flint, was concerned about a drug debt being taken from his sister, when he entered the Corbett's shop in Trelawny Square shortly after 6pm on December 20.

Wearing dark clothing and with his hood up, partly covering his face, Davidson approached the counter, where he produced an orange handled Stanley knife and threatened the sole cashier to hand over money.

Paul Riley, the cashier, who had been alone in the store at the time, handed him £200, but that wasn't enough for Davidson and he leaned over the counter and threatened him further, before he was given a further £150.

It was only after making a third threat, which resulted in Mr Riley handing him £1300, that Davidson became satisfied and left the store.

Simon Mintz, prosecuting at Mold Crown Court said how Davidson had repeatedly threatened to stab Mr Riley if he didn't do as he said and the incident had left him feeling "shaken" and "shocked".

After reporting the matter to the police, an officer reviewed the CCTV footage and recognised Davidson, which led to his arrest and a positive identification being made by Mr Riley.

When he was interviewed by police, Davidson initially denied being responsible, providing them with an alibi that he had been at a friend's house at the time of the robbery.

However, CCTV had shown him leaving a nearby block of flats shortly before the robbery took place and he was also spotted returning some time later in a different set of clothes.

In a personal impact statement, Mr Riley said how he had been suffering from insomnia since the incident but had had also had feelings of annoyance and frustration for not being able to stop the robbery taking place.

He went on to say how he was at least relieved it had been him in the shop at the time and not a female employee who had only recently started working for the company.

His barrister John Hedgecoe said the fast delivery report produced by the Probation Service "explained a lot" and that Davidson had had the most miserable start to life anyone could do.

He had served in the British Army for five years and "no doubt" regretted leaving when he did, because not longer after doing so, found himself on the wrong side of the law.

Despite a period of stability between 2005 and 2018, when he worked across the country as a welder, the breakdown of his marriage was the catalyst to a return to crime and drug use, with Davidson regularly taking both heroin and crack cocaine.

Mr Hedgecoe said how a significant drug debt was owed at the time he decided to commit the offence and that threats had been made that it would be taken from Davidson's sister. He had clearly been wrong by not admitting his guilt at the first opportunity, thinking that he might have got away with it due to a lack of identification.

He said: "It's a pretty desperate story from start to finish.

"I've come across an awful lot of people who take that cocktail of drugs, but it's at least refreshing he is positive about wanting to take the necessary steps to improve his life."

Judge Rhys Rowlands told Davidson that although the robbery had been planned, it was unsophisticated and that his "hood was up but you could see his face".

He told him that he had repeatedly threatened Mr Riley for more and more money because he wasn't satisfied with the amounts handed over to him on the first two occasions. £1700 had been a considerable sum of money he told him and that he had only been identified after an officer had recognised him on the in-shop CCTV.

The victim had been affected by the crime and although he accepted that Davidson was no doubt sorry for what he had done, the incident had been "protracted" and contained three separate threatening elements.

He told him: "You are clearly one of those individuals who couldn't cope with leaving the army.

"Drugs, especially hard drugs, destroy peoples lives, and not just the lives of those taking them. They can also destroy the lives of others, like that of the cashier in this instance."

Davidson was sentenced to three years and four months in prison and was made subject to a restraining order, barring him from entering the Corbett's bookmakers in Flint.