A KNIFE-WIELDING masked robber was pelted with water bottles after he raided the same shop twice.

Dean Walton raided the Tesco Express store in Atherton Road, Hindley, on June 13 wearing a black stocking over his face and carrying a knife after checking out the premises.

He waved the weapon at the terrified assistant, Emma Blake, who co-incidentally had been present in the premises when he robbed it in May 2009.

He demanded cash from the till and, when she fled, tried to open it but failed and ran off empty-handed as he was pelted with bottles of beer by a plucky customer.

He had been recognised and was arrested later at home, said Frank Dillon, prosecuting.

Liverpool Crown Court heard Walton, aged 28, had been jailed for 56 months after robbing the same store five years earlier.

Sentencing him to nine years in jail, Judge Clement Goldstone, QC, the Recorder of Liverpool, said: “You did not learn from that.”

He told Walton, who showed no emotion, that he poses a serious risk of significant harm to others.

Walton, of Telford Crescent, Leigh, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery, possessing a knife and shoplifting, involving stealing from a shop shortly before the raid.

Martyn Walsh, defending, said Walton suffers from anxiety and depression and had drunk 15 pints of beer before carrying out the offences.

He said: “He is genuinely remorseful and realises drink is his downfall and wants to take steps to address that in the future.”

Walton was told by the judge that he will serve six years immediately and imposed a three-year extended licence.