A man from Warrington has been jailed after carrying out an armed robbery at a petrol station in the town.

Jason Williamson, of Ramsay Close, Birchwood, pleaded guilty to charges of robbery, threatening a person with a bladed article in a public place and possessing a drug of class B (cannabis).

The 24-year-old was sentenced to four years and eight months in prison at Liverpool Crown Court.

The charges relate to an incident at Oakwood Gate Service Station in Birchwood in the early hours of the morning on Sunday 21 October.

At around 4.20am Williamson went into the garage, threatened an employee with a knife and demanded money from the tills.

After stealing a quantity of cash and cigarettes Williamson demanded that the garage worker delete CCTV footage.

There was an altercation between the two men and the garage worker managed to flee the service station, leaving Williamson inside.

The employee called the police and, after attending the scene and reviewing CCTV footage, officers identified Williamson as the offender.

He was subsequently arrested at his home, where officers found a quantity of cannabis.

Following the sentencing, detective constable Sophie Davies said: “Williamson subjected the garage worker to a terrifying ordeal, threatening him with a knife and shoving him around as he attempted to steal cash and cigarettes from the service station.

“Thankfully he was able to escape Willamson’s clutches as he demanded that CCTV footage be deleted. Had the garage worker not done so the consequences of this incident could have been far worse.

“I am delighted that Williamson has received a substantial custodial sentence and I hope that this brings some closure to the victim.

“I also hope that the sentence serves as a deterrent to other people and stops them from committing similar crimes and I would like to thank the officers who have been involved in the investigation for all their hard work to secure this prosecution.”

On top of his custodial sentence Williamson was ordered to pay a £170 victim surcharge.

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