A MAN who robbed an Orford newsagents at knifepoint has been jailed for more than two-and-a-half years.

Michael Edwards, from Orford, has been jailed for a total of 32 months for committing the armed robbery at Noone’s News in September.

Shortly before 8.30am on Friday, September 22, Edwards entered the convenience store, on Longford Street in Orford, armed with a knife and demanded money from the till of the shop before producing a wheel brace.

The 36-year-old began taking money from the till before assaulting the shopkeeper, leading to an altercation between the pair.

Edwards, of Winifred Street, then fled the scene - running away from the newsagents along Hale Street and onto West Street.

While the shopkeeper suffered only a minor cut to the hand following the incident, he was described as being left ‘extremely shaken by the ordeal’ he went through.

Cheshire Police issued a plea for information from members of the public in connection with the incident on Wednesday, October 4.

A CCTV image of the suspect brandishing the wheel brace to the shopkeeper was released to the public, with Edwards then handing himself in at Warrington Police Station later the same day.

On Thursday, November 2, Edwards was jailed for 32 months at Liverpool Crown Court after admitting robbery.

Detective constable Natalia Tuozzo from Cheshire Police said: “This was a very unpleasant incident for the shopkeeper, who has been left extremely shaken by the ordeal."