A MAN robbed a Tesco store at knifepoint stealing cigarettes and cash, a court heard.

Shaun Andrew Havard threatened a member of staff at the Tesco Express on Langdown Lawn, Hythe, with a knife. 

The 35-year-old demanded cash and cigarettes from another worker before fleeing the scene with a haul of stolen property. 

Southampton Crown Court heard how police later went to an address on Maritime Avenue in Marchwood.

READ MORE: Man armed with meat cleaver and crossbow robs shop

Officers found three people and stopped a vehicle, alongside a further person in a nearby property. 

A search of the vehicle and property uncovered quantities of cash and cigarettes – which were seized as evidence and linked to the earlier robbery. 

Havard, of no fixed address, was charged with robbery and threatening a person with an article or a blade in a public place.

He previously pleaded guilty to the offences committed in July of this year.  

Appearing at Southampton Crown Court on Thursday he was jailed for six years for the offences he committed. 

Police Staff Investigator, Jordan Clayton, said: “This was a particularly nasty incident for those staff members who were implicated, and for those who witnessed the incident – and wish to praise them for their bravery during the ordeal. 

“Shaun Andrew Havard is now behind bars where he can no longer cause any harm or distress to those in the local community – with the judge handing down a significant sentence befitting of the offences committed.

“We hope that local residents can see that we take these offences very seriously and seek to bring people in front of the courts, with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service, in order for justice to be served.”

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Police Staff Investigator, Jordan Clayton, said: “This was a particularly nasty incident for those staff members who were implicated, and for those who witnessed the incident – and wish to praise them for their bravery during the ordeal. 

“Havard is now behind bars where he can no longer cause any harm or distress to those in the local community – with the judge handing down a significant sentence befitting of the offences committed.

“We hope that local residents can see that we take these offences very seriously and seek to bring people in front of the courts, with the support of the Crown Prosecution Service, in order for justice to be served.”