A would-be robber who threatened to stab a woman working behind the bar of a restaurant fled the scene empty-handed when two of her colleagues spotted what was happening.

Paul Galloway walked behind the bar of Turtle Bay in Middlesbrough town centre and demanded that she hand over the cash from the till.

Teesside Crown Court heard how the 49-year-old intimidated the worker with his demand but she told police that she never actually saw a knife despite his threat.

Joseph Hedworth, prosecuting, said the victim noticed Galloway when he entered the bar on Corporation Road as he didn’t look like their ‘usual clientele’.

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He said: “He approached the bar and walked behind it and used the words – ‘get the money out of the till or I will stab you up’.

The Northern Echo: Turtle Bay, Middlesbrough.Turtle Bay, Middlesbrough. (Image: Google)

“He said this in an aggressive manner and when the threat was made, he had his hands in his pocket. She fairly says that she didn’t see a knife at any point. He was within touching distance of her and she didn’t know whether he had a knife or not.”

The defendant fled the scene empty-handed when the woman’s two colleagues started to walk towards him, he added.

Galloway, of Nelson House, Middlesbrough, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery at around 10pm on February 16 this year.

The Northern Echo: Paul GallowayPaul Galloway (Image: Cleveland Police)

Jon Harley, mitigating, said his client had managed to stay out of trouble for several years until his life spiralled out of control following the murder of his brother, death of his mother and suicide of another brother.

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Judge Paul Watson KC sentenced Galloway to two years in prison after hearing the defendant had 47 convictions for 177 offences, although none of them were of a similar nature to the attempted robbery.

He said: “You went in there and threatened her to get the money out of the till otherwise she would be stabbed – she got herself out of the bar area as quickly as she could.

“As the other two colleagues approached, you thought better of it and left the premises. It was a short-lived offence and no weapon was produced even though you threatened that you had one.”