A TEENAGER has been convicted of a knifepoint robbery at a convenience store in Darlington.

The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, threatened a lone cashier with a machete before making off with a small amount of cash. The incident happened at P&J’s Convenience Store, in Brougham Street, on the afternoon of November 19 last year. Detectives carried out extensive inquiries to trace the suspects, including searches of the area by the dog section and examination of CCTV.

DNA tests were also carried out on clothing found discarded in a pile of leaves near the scene, which eventually led officers to the suspect.

The boy was arrested earlier this year and charged with robbery. He initially denied the offence but was found guilty at court. He appeared at Swindon Youth Court earlier this week where he was given a 12-month youth rehabilitation order and seven days of reparation work.

Detective Sergeant John Tyers, from Darlington CID, said: “This was a horrendous ordeal for a lone woman to go through while simply doing her job. Thankfully the victim wasn’t injured, but she was understandably left shaken by the incident. We worked extremely hard to trace the suspect."