A MAN who knocked down a garage worker before robbing it to pay off a drug debt in St Asaph has been jailed for more than two years.

Jake Thomas, 32, pleaded guilty to robbery and was sentenced at Mold Crown Court on Wednesday, November 17, for the incident at Applegreen Petrol Station, in The Roe, on Friday, October 15.

The court was shown CCTV footage of Thomas – dressed all in black with a cap to hide his face – approaching the till with a glass bottle, before he charged at Linda Evans, pushed her to the floor and stole £215, which prosecutors say was used to pay off a £600 drug debt.

In her victim impact statement, she said she was 'shaking' when she returned to work for her first shift since the robbery.

Mrs Evans also said he has changed her work routine to stop people coming near tills and using toilets post 9pm and said 'I feel like he has taken my life away from me'.

Thomas, of High Street, St Asaph, admitted the offence – which lasted around one minute – in interview after he was shown the CCTV footage, telling police that he feared for his and his family's life because of the debt.

He also reportedly told officers that he had planned the robbery for weeks, targeting the garage and that he was prepared to use the bottle in his desperation to get the money to pay off the debt.

Judge Timothy Petts accepted that Thomas had pleaded guilty at the first opportunity, and that with a diagnosis of anxiety and other health issues, a prison sentence would be tough for him, but he ultimately jailed him because of the seriousness of the offence.

He added: "You went in with your cap on to hide your face, you shoved her and £215 was taken.

"The psychological impact on her is everlasting – you robbed the service station to pay off the drug debt but that’s little mitigation.

"They open late at night to provide a service and you should be punished accordingly.

"Other aggravating factors here are that there was a degree of targeting and that it happened at night.

"I've no doubt your health issues will make custody harder than an average prisoner but I have to select the sentence that is shortest possible to mirror the seriousness of the offence."

Thomas was jailed for two years and eight months, but will only serve half before being automatically released on licence.

He was also banned from entering that petrol station for 10 years.

Following sentencing, Denbighshire Rural Area Inspector Andy Kirkham said: "This was a crime which will have caused the victim considerable distress, and I welcome today’s sentence.

"Thankfully, offences like this are rare in our locality, but as in this case, we will act swiftly to protect and reassure our communities.

"We will continue to strive to make north Wales the safest place in the UK."