A ROBBER threatened to “peel” the skin off the face of a betting shop assistant with acid as he made demands for money, a court heard.

Matthew Philip Haymer was carrying an open-top bottle containing liquid as he pushed a note in front of the lone assistant, at Corals in Durham city centre, at 5.30pm on August 1.

Victoria Lamballe, prosecuting, told Durham Crown Court the hand-written note read: “This is a robbery. Empty your tills and the safe, and you won’t be hurt.

“This bottle contains acid and, a wrong move, it will peel your face off. Don’t do anything stupid.”

Haymer was handed less than £200 from the till, but repeated his threats, saying: “Give me the rest. This is acid. Don’t make me do it.”

Miss Lamballe said: “The assistant believed the contents of the bottle would be thrown at him and believed it contained acid.

“He feared for his safety and thought of the effect on his one-year-old son, so he opened the safe and handed over more money.”

Leaving with £618, Haymer said: “Sorry about this. It’s all about blackmail.”

The distressed assistant said he later suffered flashbacks and could not face going to work the next day.

Miss Lamballe said cctv footage was circulated and an officer in Darlington recognised Haymer, who he had dealings with on the morning of the robbery.

The, now 28-year-old defendant was arrested at his flat, in Coniscliffe Road, on August 2, and made no comment to questions, but went on to admit robbery, at a previous hearing.

Richard Herrmann, mitigating, said it had not been long pre-planned and was not very sophisticated, as there was no attempt at disguise.

He said Haymer was desperate for cash due to gambling debts.

The court was told the liquid was found not to be acid, when the discarded bottle was recovered from a bin.

But, Judge Jonathan Carroll said the fearful assistant was not to know that.

Imposing a 49-month prison sentence, the judge told Haymer: “This was a vicious, wicked and, frankly, terrifying threat.”