Christopher Cook, jailed for robbery

A robber who tried to stab the manager of a charity shop for veterans was bravely taken to the floor and disarmed. Despicable Christopher Cook, who described himself as a "full-time burglar", caused thousands of pounds of damage to the shop by breaking in through the roof before stealing from the till and a tombola bucket.

When the manager of the Veterans At Ease shop, on Shields Road, Byker, Newcastle, went to the shop at 8am on August 24 this year, he heard a rustling noise coming from upstairs as he opened up. He went to investigate and saw stranger Cook in one of the rooms, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

Neil Pallister, prosecuting, said: "The defendant was trying to open a safe with a screwdriver which had been taken from a set in the same room.

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