A KNIFEMAN who held up a shop - and threatened to stab terrified counter staff unless they co-operated - has been jailed for 64 months.

Staff at the Co-Op in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, had been suspicious of Daniel Malcolm Devlin, after he walked in with his collar turned up and a scarf around the lower half of his face, Burnley Crown Court was told.

And when shop assistant Rick Austin went to challenge him, Devlin pulled out a seven-inch kitchen knife, and ordered staff to stand behind the counter, the court heard.

He shouted: "Open the till or I will stab you", while still brandishing the knife, said prosecutor Emma Kehoe.

Devlin produced a bag and demanded that staff put the money from the till inside, she told the court.

He also ordered the staff, which included fellow shop assistants Tyrian Sarrionandia and Liam Hannon, to open another till.

Ms Kehoe said that staff told him they had no access to that till, prompting Devlin to swear at them. When Miss Sarrionandia came from around the counter she was pushed back by the robber.

"When he realised he was not going to take any more money he left the store," said Ms Kehoe.

The court heard he fled with around £120. He was later identified from CCTV footage as he had earlier stolen cider from the same store.

Devlin, of no fixed address but formerly of Exchange Street, Edenfield, admitted robbery, possession of a bladed article and theft.

He was imprisoned for five years and four months and will be subject to an extended licence period of three years after Judge Beverley Lunt ruled he was a 'dangerous' offender.

The court heard he had no fewer than three previous convictions for knife-related offences, including possession of a machete in 2014.

Jailing him, Judge Lunt said that although Devlin had shown remorse and regret for his actions, staff would still have been left with psychological trauma as a result of the robbery when they returned to work.

Laura Heywood, for Devlin, said her client, who suffered from a number of mental health problems, had been having problems securing his medication at the time of the offences.