Peterborough man jailed after attempting to rob a shop at knifepoint

Following a public CCTV appeal in July, Thomas Avery, 29, was arrested in connection with an attempted robbery at Khan Food Store in Taverners Road the day before he was due in court for carrying a knife.

On 28 May neighbourhood policing officers were approached by a member of the public in London Road who had just seen a man drop a knife then pick it up again.

They located the man, Avery, who was searched and found to be in possession of a kitchen knife and a balaclava.

He was arrested and interviewed where he told officers he had bought the knife from Wilkos in Peterborough town centre earlier that day as he liked to cook steak at home and needed a new knife.

Officers carried out enquiries with staff at the store where it was confirmed Avery had not been in the shop that day, nor did they sell the specific knife seized from Avery.

Avery was later charged with possessing a knife in a public place and going equipped for theft. He was bailed to appear in court on 9 July.

The day before he was due in court, Avery entered Khan Food Store wearing gloves, plastic bags over his feet and a face covering with a hood.

Detective Sergeant Justin Parr said: “Armed with a knife, he threatened a member of staff saying “give me all the money from the till” however the victim managed to run out of the store, activating the shutters as he left.

“Avery also managed to get out of the store before being locked in, however he left empty handed.”

A public CCTV appeal was issued in order to identify the offender, which resulted in seven calls from members of the public giving the name of Thomas Avery.

A police officer also identified the man in the CCTV footage as being Avery after recognising him from the incident in London Road in May.

He was arrested on 15 July and charged the following morning with attempted robbery, possession of a knife in a public place and possession of an offensive weapon in a public place.

Avery, of Ashville Road in Hampton Hargate, appeared at Peterborough Crown Court today (29 September) after admitting all charges against him. He was sentenced to a total of four years in prison.

Det Sgt Parr added: “Knives can be extremely dangerous if used as a weapon. Thankfully no one was injured as a result of Avery being in possession of them, however we could have been dealing with a very different matter.”