A FLINTSHIRE man who acted as a 'lookout' during a 'terrifying' attempted robbery at a convenience store has been jailed.

David Lloyd, of Bryn Mawr Road in Holywell, appeared before Mold Crown Court for sentencing on Thursday, July 4.

At a Plea and Trial Preparation Hearing held on June 21, Lloyd had pleaded guilty to a count of the attempted robbery of cigarettes and cash from Ramanan Selvarasa.

The 23-year-old had taken part in the offending alongside Zane Ashford, who was sentenced to two years and eight months in jail following a hearing in May.

At the time of the offending, Lloyd had been on a suspended sentence and on bail for other matters, the court heard.

David Mainstone, prosecuting, said that the incident took place at around 9.45pm on July 2 of last year, when Mr Selvarasa was working alone at his brother's shop, the Holywell Convenience Store.

Two males entered the premises - one of whom had a black face mask on and was carrying a machete (Ashford) and the other had a red neckerchief covering his face.

The machete carrying man advanced on the victim and demanded that he open the till and give him cigarettes.

Lloyd was 'lookout' during the incident, Mr Mainstone said.

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He was spotted on CCTV keeping watch at the door of the store and was seen fleeing the scene with Ashford.

During the incident, Mr Selvarasa picked two bottles of wine in order to defend himself from Ashford and chased the pair away from the store before locking up.

£60 worth of damage was caused to the shop's stock and the complainant suffered a graze to his upper arm from the machete.

On July 4, officers found the pair's clothing, and the machete used during the incident, dumped outside the Holywell Bowling Club.

Philip Tully, defending, said that although the incident was a 'joint enterprise offence', Lloyd was 'not involved in any violence' nor did he 'encourage any violence' either.

Mr Tully added that the defendant was 'keen to put matters behind him' and 'move on with his life'.

Sentencing Lloyd, Judge Niclas Parry said: "Your co-accused wouldn't have done what he had done, had there been the prospect of him being caught in the act.

"This must have been a terrifying incident for a vulnerable shopkeeper."

Lloyd was sentenced to two years and four months in prison and faced no separate penalty for breaching his suspended sentence.

A five-year restraining order was also made prohibiting him from entering Holywell Convenience Store.