A MASKED man who attempted to rob a post office with a kitchen knife but was recognised by the store manager has been jailed.

Raymond Myles, aged 53, of Gaer Vale, Newport, was given a three-and-a-half-year sentence at Newport Crown Court yesterday having pleaded guilty to one count of attempted robbery and one charge of possessing a bladed article.

The court heard that at 9.30am on May 22 of this year, Myles entered the post office on Cardiff Road wearing a white ghost face mask and wielding a 10-inch kitchen knife.

Mark Battrick, prosecuting, said: “The manager on duty punched the alarm, and Miles said ‘give me the money’ and waved the knife in her direction.

“The male made off from the post office and the manager locked herself and the money inside the safety room.

“She recognised the man as someone known as ‘Sammy’ who was a regular and someone living close by. He was also seen taking his mask off by a member of the public.”

While the manager refused to give a victim statement, one provided by the store’s owner was read out in court by Mr Battrick.

It said: “I’ve known ‘Sammy’ since October 2015 and I have seen him deteriorate over the years and he has clearly had drug issues.

“I’ve given him food to help him out. I’ve seen him looking cold and I’ve offered to put him in front of the heater.

“It’s a shock that after showing him compassion, he did this.”

The owner added that the incident led to the post office being closed for entire day, which led to him losing out on a day’s takings of around £500.

It was also revealed that the CCTV system outside the shop was broken and, following the attempted robbery, the owner has invested £500 of his own money into security cameras “as he couldn’t leave the premises without surveillance”.

Kevin Seal, defending, said that Myles had been suffering from a relapsed addiction to drugs following the death of his mother 18 months ago.

“He became vulnerable and was living on his own, he found himself back taking drugs and being preyed upon by others,” he said.

“This was a desperate attempt as is shown by him choosing the closest post office, or shop, to him.”

Prior to sentencing Myles, Judge Daniel Jenkins said: “Holding a large knife you wanted in the post office, pointed the knife at the manager and demanded money from her.

“Bravely, in spite of the knife, she did not yield to your demands.

“You were seen going from the post office and later identified, despite your best efforts in wearing a mask.”