AN armed robber terrified the staff of a small shop when he vaulted the counter and tried to steal the till, a court heard yesterday.

Teesside Crown Court heard that just a week before the robbery drug-addict Kevin Kitching had stabbed his friend twice in the chest.

Sarah Mallett, prosecuting, said the 25-year-old, of no fixed address but formerly of Granville Road, Grangetown, admitted wounding and robbery.

On October 18, Kitching went to a woman's house in Grangetown to ask for money from her son. When she said he was not available, an argument began, and Robert Stephen Brown, a long-time friend, came out to calm the situation.

Miss Mallett said a fight started between the two men, and Kitching pulled a knife, stabbing his friend.

On October 25, the staff of the Eston Mini Market, in West Street, Eston, were warned there was a suspicious male hanging about outside and they rang the police. Officers saw a man wearing a white hood going into the shop.

Kitching, wearing the hood, with eye holes, and socks on his hands, vaulted the counter and tried to steal the till. When he could not, he brandished a knife and demanded staff open the till.

The officers arrived and told Kitching to drop the knife, which he did, said Miss Mallett.

Richard Bloomfield, defending, said Kitching had used the knife in the fight with his friend in self defence and had committed the robbery because he was desperate for drugs money.

Jailing him for seven and a half years, Judge Peter Fox QC said the robbery had been terrifying for the staff.