A MASKED man who robbed a bakery takeaway service armed with a screwdriver has been jailed for more than two years.

Nicholas Maze, of Caversham Road, Reading was sentenced today (March 1) after previously pleading guilty to robbing Cake Box, in Wokingham Road, on January 10 this year.

The court heard that the 38-year-old had entered the shop about midday holding a screwdriver backwards and ‘ripped out’ the cash till stealing approximately £50.

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During the robbery, he pushed a moveable counter into the woman working there who has since reported suffering from physically and emotional distress after the incident.

Prosecuting, Lisa Goddard said: “[During the incident, Maze] was dressed all in black, he has his hood up and was wearing a black mask that covered most of his face.

“He asked about one of the cakes on display and said he would come back after speaking to his wife about something needing to be written on the cake.

“He came back about 20 minutes later and it appears from the CCTV there were no staff an he went to the side [of the shop] to access the till.

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“The claimant said the defendant was holding a screwdriver in his lefthand the wrong way round and was shouting, ‘Keep quiet, keep quiet’ while he was pushing the counter into her stomach.”

It is estimated that the loss of earnings is £700 while the till damage is about £200.

In a victim statement heard in court, the woman working on the day said: “I feel depressed at work and I’m not longer happy working.

“The incident has affected me physically, I spoke to my GP about the stomach pain from the counter being pushed into me.

“This incident had a great impact on my confidence and speaking to customers. I keep thinking about the incident, it’s not easy to forget.

“My daughter keeps messaging throughout the day to ask if I’m safe. She shouldn’t have to worry about me.”

The court heard that Maze has 21 previous convictions for 27 offences including a robbery in 2003 and an offence of violence in 2008.

Defending, Gavin Hull said that Maze has been in and out of courts from the age of 15 to 25 before he started to live ‘a more positive lifestyle’ after the birth of his daughter. But he had started getting involved in drugs again before the incident.

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Mr Hull said: “He lost his job and his savings started to run out. The events in January were out of desperation and you can see how unsophisticated it was on the CCTV. He wants to express his sincere apologises and regrets his decision.”

Judge Kirsty Real sentenced him to 33 months imprisonment. He will serve at least half of this before being released on license.