A dustman has been sentenced to five years in prison for robbing a village post office with a knife.

Anthony Cheswick, 25, of Saxton Road, Abingdon, stole more than £300 from Chapel Store, in High Street, Long Wittenham on July 5.

Oxford Crown Court heard on Friday hat the father-of-two entered the shop wearing a hood and threatened shopkeeper Sajida Parveen with a five-inch knife. Her sister and baby niece were in the shop at the time.

David Bright, prosecuting, said: "She tried to give him some of the money from the till but he demanded all of it, making sure that she could see the knife.

"That induced in her considerable fear not only for herself but for the baby."

He escaped in a car but was caught by police later that day and arrested. Cheswick, who has no previous convictions, admitted robbery.

Paul Ross, defending, said: "This is his first foray into serious offending."

He will serve at least half of the five-year sentence.

Helen Kerr, 26, who was in the shop with Cheswick, was caught and arrested nearby with a syringe of heroin in her possession.

She was charged with robbery, which she denied, but admitted an alternative charge of burglary, which was accepted.

Kerr, of Hamble Road, Didcot, is a recovering heroin addict with three young children.

John Upton defending, said she had been drug-free since her arrest.

He said: "She has set her mind on becoming free of drugs and once again becoming a good mother."

Kerr will be sentenced on Friday, December 20, following a drug treatment and testing order assessment.