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Dim-witted shop robber Lewis Colin Riley was nabbed after leaving his trainer at the scene of his crime - before returning minutes later to ask for it back.

The 19-year-old was the only one of three hooded shop raiders to be caught.

The bungling criminal went back to the store to demand the footwear he’d left behind.

Riley stayed in the shop moaning “I just want my shoe back” - until the police arrived and arrested him.

The crook was yesterday sent to a young offenders’ institution for four years.

Judge Peter Bowers said he had to pass a deterrent sentence as the terrified shopkeeper had already been the target of three robberies in the last year.

The latest raid left the owner considering closing down after 20 years of service to the community.

Police today appealed for information to catch Riley’s two partners in crime, who are still unidentified.

CCTV footage of the robbery in central Middlesbrough was played to Teesside Crown Court.

It showed Riley and two others walking quickly into the Mini Food Store on Clarendon Road on May 26.

The shopkeeper at the till heard a man shouting: “Get the fags and the money.”

One of Riley’s associates moved towards the victim carrying a knife and wearing a black hoodie.

Riley climbed on to the counter towards the cigarettes while another man tried to get into a till.

Riley would later admit that had a knife on him, said prosecutor Paul Lee.

He never produced it, but confessed he would have used it if necessary during the robbery.

The trio left after a brief struggle with the shop owner and his son.

The shop owner didn’t know the men were armed until after they left.

He found a knife with a three-inch blade and a training shoe on the floor of the shop.

Moments later Riley returned demanding his shoe back, claiming: “It wasn’t me. It was my brother.”

The victim said in a statement he felt unsafe continuing his small business. “It’s not only upsetting but disappointing,” he said.

He said it terrified him that the robbers were armed: “At any point myself or my son could have been stabbed.”

He told how the robbery had a massive impact on his family, leaving his wife “in a constant state of panic” and his son, who lives next door, running in “at the slightest sound”.

He said he hoped the courts would pass the maximum possible sentence.

Riley, of Bradhope Road, Berwick Hills, Middlesbrough, admitted his first robbery.

He had 28 previous offences on his record and had not long been released from custody.

He was locked up for 18 months last July for burgling a jewellers’ stealing more than £9,000 worth of goods.

He also had a reprimand for attempted robbery and a warning for having an offensive weapon.

The robbery meant he breached his licence and was recalled to prison until December.

Graham Silvester, defending, said: “This defendant is the only one of three that has been apprehended and brought into the court system.

“In the strict sense this was pre-planned but in fact was a spur-of-the-moment decision between the three of them.

“He had no intention of threatening anybody with the knife to carry out a robbery.

“He’s part of a culture where carrying knives is commonplace.

“Had he been challenged, he may well have used the knife as part of the robbery.

“Perhaps more by chance, the physical injuries were of a relatively minor nature. The haul was very minor, some cigarettes and some money.”

Judge Bowers said the shop owner and his son showed “enormous courage” standing up to the three robbers.

He told Riley: “I don’t know whether you even understand or care the effect a robbery has upon a shop keeper and his family.

“If this shop closes then this part of the town will be deprived of a night shop. I don’t suppose it matters to you at all.

“You’ve targeted a small shop. It was vulnerable to attack. A knife is present. You possessed a knife, prepared to use it if necessary.

“There is some actual violence, fortunately no serious violence. The others have not yet even been identified.

“You’ve had a pretty dismal upbringing, I accept that. You readily admit what you did was for money.

“The fact that this shop has been targeted three times this year already means I’m going to pass a deterrent sentence on you.”

A Cleveland Police spokesman said today: “We are pleased with the outcome at court regarding Lewis Riley.

“However, we would still appeal to members of the public for their help in tracing the other two suspects shown in the CCTV footage.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Constable Marie Appleby at Middlesbrough Volume Crime Team on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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