THE teenager who held up a Winsford newsagents with a machete and has terrorised the town with a list of other crimes has been sent to young offenders’ prison.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, appeared at Crewe Youth Court yesterday.

The court heard how he had entered K & L Newsagents with an accomplice, waving around a machete and demanding cash from the 56-year-old shopkeeper, Hamalata Patel.

It also heard how he had blackmailed a gay couple, demanding they give him £2,000 or he would petrol bomb their home and tell police they had ‘got him drunk and sexually assaulted him.’

CCTV footage obtained by the Guardian shows how the brave grandmother chased the pair away with a chair.

The court heard a written statement from one the men who was blackmailed which stated he has now moved out of Winsford as a result of the blackmail.

The statement read: “I’ve been in fear of leaving my home as I’m scared of what he has said to other youths in the area. I’m fearful others will ask me for money and I’m scared that he will damage my property once I leave.

“It has put a strain on my relationship with my partner as I can’t leave my home and we are living apart. I’ve seen no option but to relocate.”

He also pleaded guilty to assaulting a staff member at McDonald’s by smashing an egg on their head, burglary of the Verdin Exchange, a public order offence, and failing to surrender to bail, which resulted in a police chase involving a helicopter.

Andrew Mawson, defending, said: “He accepts that he asked the victim for money, he accepts he threatened to report him to the police for sexual assault, he also accepts he made threats to petrol bomb his home, but he says he had no intention of ever carrying out those threats.

“Thankfully, no money was lost as result of those threats.

“Can I stress for the attempted robbery that nobody was hurt and he says he had no intention of doing, shown by the fact he retreated.”

The 16-year-old was given a two-year detention and training order for the attempted robbery and blackmail and no separate penalty for the other offences.

It means he will spend one year in a youth offenders’ prison and one year and the other half of his sentence in the community.

Judge Ann Calder said: “You’re here today for a number of offences and we have given huge consideration as to what we are going to do with you.

“It comes down to two very serious offences. The attempted robbery and the blackmail. Both were atrocious.

“If you were in adult courts, you would be looking at a maximum combined sentence of 19 years in prison for those two offences.

“Obviously, we have to take into account your age and your relevant few previous convictions. But we cannot evade a detention and training order. It’s a matter of what would be fair to the public and what would be right in this case is a 24-month detention and training order.”

The Guardian made an application to the court to lift his anonymity rights. This was refused.