Knife wielding robber was ‘like a kamikaze pilot’ as he raided shelves of baby milk products at Boots store in Pudsey

Daniel Ridyard was locked up for 32 months over the robbery at the pharmacy on Church Lane, Pudsey.

Leeds Crown Court heard Ridyard was well known among staff at the store for being a shoplifter.

Ridyard went into the premises on June 16 this year and began filling his bag with items from the shelves.

The defendant was recognised by the manager who asked him to leave.

Ridyard ignored him and continued to take good from the shelves.

Louise Pryke, prosecuting, said a knife fell from Ridyard's pocket as he reached to get more items.

Ridyard picked the knife up from the floor as the manager was stood two metres away from him.

He held the weapon and said to the manager: "Do you want some of this?"

Miss Pryke said the manager was shocked and frightened and ran back up the aisle to contact police.

Ridyard then grabbed 12 units of baby milk, worth £104, before leaving.

The 43-year-old was later arrested by police.

He told officers he had taken the items to sell to buy drugs.

The baby milk was recovered but could not be put back on sale because of Covid-19 restrictions.

Ridyard, of Richardshaw Lane, Stanningley, pleaded guilty to robbery and possession of a bladed article.

He has previous convictions for shoplifting.

Craig Sutcliffe, mitigating, said Ridyard pleaded guilty to the offences at an early stage.

He said his client had been out of trouble between 2008 and 2017 but returned to offending after he relapsed into drug abuse.

Mr Sutcliffe said Ridyard committed the offence out of desperation in order to fund his addiction.

He said: "He was a bit like a kamikaze pilot. Desperate in his position, going into a store where he was known and not taking action to avoid detection.

"He went in and started to fill his bag with these baby milk products.

"It is notable that the knife fell from his pocket rather than it being deliberately brandished by the defendant."

Jailing Ridyard, Judge Penelope Belcher said: "A custodial sentence is inevitable for a robbery involving a knife."

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Thank you Laura Collins