A MAN who stole £4,000 worth of jewellery and threatened a shop worker with a gardening fork has been jailed for more than two years.

Connor Sexton, 23, of Radvald Chase, Stanway, stole rings worth £4,000 on March 7 from John Winter Drake jewellers in Halstead High Street, and a computer hard drive worth £450 from The Original Factory Shop on March 9 after threatening a member of staff with a garden fork.

Sexton appeared at Chelmsford Crown Court on Friday where he admitted one count of theft and one count of robbery.

Prosecuting, Caroline Gardiner said: “On March 7, the defendant entered John Winter Drake jewellers on Halstead High Steet where he asked the owner John Drake to look at a ring which was in a display draw. When Mr Drake opened the draw, the defendant grabbed the ring and six similar ones and ran out of the store. Upon being arrest for the other charge of theft, the rings were recovered and were worth £4,000.

“On March 9 shortly after 1.40pm, the defendant entered The Original Factory Shop, where he was spotted on CCTV picking up a garden fork, which he then proceeded to the checkout where a female member of staff was on duty. He pointed the fork at her and said ‘give me the money’. It was quiet at first but the worker described him getting more aggressive and repeating it louder each time. She said she thought she was going to die.

“After several attempts to get her to open the till, the defendant grabbed the computer hard drive on the counter, worth £450, and fled the store. The worker then alerted other members of staff who phoned the police.

“The police arrived shortly afterwards and located the defendant in a block of flats opposite, where he admitted to the offence immediately and the hard drive was found in a bin.”

Mitigating, Julie Brice said: “The defendant has been through an extremely rough time. He suffers from bipolar and has shown remorse and regret from his actions, and wants to better himself and find better ways to tackle his condition.

“He is also taking care of his nine-year-old nephew, who is lost without him.”

Judge Charles Gratwicke told Sexton: “I accept and have sympathy for your difficulties you were experiencing at the time, however, the businesses you targeted have a right to protection from the law and would expect someone who disregarded these laws to be brought to justice with an immediate custodial sentence. Even if you have these difficulties, if you keep offending these laws, the courts will punish you if you keep returning to them.”

Sexton was sentenced to 12 months in prison for theft and 16 months for robbery to run consecutively, totalling 28 months in prison.