A HOODED and masked teenage raider who pinched a takeaway till has been jailed for two years.

Binge drinker Jamie Barski, 19, ran from the Church Chippy with the till after pulling it free and fighting over it in a ‘tug of war’ with Jennifer Leung.

He then fell over outside, dropped it and Miss Leung tried again to get it back.

But Barski got up and pushed her away. She stumbled and he made off with the till and £200, Burnley Crown Court heard.

The shop closed down after the theft and Miss Leung lost her job, but was so shocked and upset by her ordeal that she did not want to work there any more, the court heard.

The defendant, of Canal Street, Church, admitted robbery, on last Easter Sunday, April 4. He had no previous convictions.

Recorder Suzanne Goddard QC, sent him to a young offenders’ institution, saying: “The only sentence I can pass is an immediate custodial sentence.”

Mark Lamberty, prosecuting, said between 6pm and 7pm a group of youths – including the defendant, wearing a distinctive grey and white camouflage jacket – went into the shop, in Church.

At about 10pm, Miss Leung was in the back of the premises and saw someone come in.

He went behind the counter towards her and confronted her from about eight feet away.

The defendant’s hood was up, and the lower part of his face was covered, but she recognised his eyes.

Mr Lamberty said Miss Leung ‘with some courage’ got hold of the till, and tried to pull it from Barski.

After the defendant got away with the till, the victim returned to the shop and asked a neighbour to call the police.

A tracker dog found the till discarded by a canal bank.

Mr Lamberty said Barski was arrested on August 10, claimed he had been party to the robbery, but said he had been standing outside and had not entered the premises.

Adrian Williams, for Barski, said he understood it was a serious offence.

He was not a particularly sophisticated young man.

The defendant was heavily intoxicated and had been with others more criminally motivated.