Baby-faced thug, 21, is jailed for 27 months after shopkeeper he threatened with hunting knife during violent failed robbery recognised him as a regular customer on Facebook

Struan MacDonald, 21, burst into a shop wearing a balaclava and threatened Julie O'Brien with a large hunting knife

A knife-wielding thug who was caught after a shopkeeper he terrorised during a violent robbery bid recognised him on Facebook has been jailed for 27 months.

Struan MacDonald, 21, burst into a shop wearing a balaclava and threatened Julie O'Brien with a large hunting knife.

He screamed 'open the f****** till' and 'give us the f****** money' during the incident that was caught on CCTV.

MacDonald repeatedly grabbed Miss O'Brien by the hair and forced her head against the till as he desperately tried to get it open before he fled empty handed from the branch of My Local Store near his then home in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire.

A £1,000 reward to catch the culprit was offered and Miss O'Brien received an anonymous tip-off naming MacDonald.

She was able to identify him from social media as she had served him numerous times in the shop.

MacDonald, now of Carluke, Lanarkshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting Miss O'Brien with intent to rob in March last year.

He also admitted having an air rifle without a proper certificate which was discovered hidden under clothes when police raided his house the following month.

He has been jailed by Sheriff Alasdair MacFadyen.

A £1,000 reward to catch the culprit was offered and Miss O'Brien received an anonymous tip-off naming MacDonald. She was able to identify him from social media as she had served him numerous times in the shop

Depute fiscal Jennifer McLaren said: 'The accused then entered the locus wearing a black balaclava and carrying a large hunting style knife.

'The accused thereafter grabbed the witness by putting his left arm around her neck and holding the hunting knife to the right hand side of her torso before grabbing her towards the till area.

'The witness informed the accused that she was unable to open the till and he thereafter took a bottle of vodka and scanned it in an effort to open the till before repeatedly grabbing the witness by the hair and forcing her head against the till.

Miss McLaren added: 'Following the incident the owner of the shop offered a reward and the witness received a phone call from an anonymous source that the male responsible was the accused and she then identified him from social media.

'She identified him as someone who she knew as a regular customer and had served him directly multiple occasions before.'

Jackson Bateman, defending, said: 'It is not lost on him the seriousness of these matters and he is well aware of the options open to the court.

MacDonald, of Carluke, Lanarkshire, appeared at Hamilton Sheriff Court and admitted assaulting Miss O'Brien with intent to rob in March last year. He was jailed for 27 months

'At the time of this offence there was a problem with alcohol in the background which was exacerbated by financial issues in the form of debt and there were also family difficulties.'

Sheriff MacFadyen said: 'The experience suffered by Miss O'Brien and her colleague must have been absolutely terrifying for the women and that is 100 percent down to you.

'You were motivated by a desire to obtain money through these means and that was done in a premeditated fashion by you arming yourself with this very intimidating weapon and using it in the way described.

'Your family circumstances were difficult and you were of a young age but they do not persuade me from the point of view that the only reasonable disposal is a custodial sentence.'

The sheriff added: 'It is also concerning that somebody like you thought it appropriate to hold on to a firearm.'

MacDonald was told he would have been jailed for 37 months had it not been for his guilty pleas.