A masked man who threatened a terrified shopkeeper with an axe was a managing director of a drug rehabilitation project before becoming hooked on heroin.

A court heard how Christopher Grewcock had previously counselled drug addicts before becoming addicted himself.

The 31-year-old embarked on a series of crimes which has resulted in a lengthy jail sentence, LeicestershireLive reports.

Leicester Crown Court was told that Grewcock was dressed in black with his face shielded, as he entered a store in Coventry Road, Burbage, waving an axe around, on Thursday February 28.


Paul Prior, prosecuting, said the defendant threatened the female shopkeeper at the counter, demanding: "Give me all your money."

Mr Prior said: "She screamed and was very scared.

"Her husband heard her screams and came out of the store room and saw the scene, before chasing after him."

Christopher Grewcock has been jailed for a knifepoint robbery at a shop in Hinckley
Christopher Grewcock was jailed at Leicester Crown Court

CCTV stills showed Grewcock fleeing into the street carrying his axe.

The victim's husband bravely grabbed him and tried to detain him, but Grewcock escaped in a car.

Just 80 minutes earlier, the defendant committed a robbery at WHSmith, in Castle Street, Hinckley, when he used a screwdriver to access a till drawer.

The female manager accosted him, saying: "What are you doing?"

He told her: "P*** off or you're going to get it."

As he fled with the till containing cash, stamps and theatre tickets, she tried to block his way and pulled down the scarf which concealed his face.

She followed him outside to his car and stood in the way, but eventually stepped aside having taken the registration number of his Honda Accord.

Grewcock, formerly of Teign Bank Close, Hinckley, also twice targeted the same WHSmith store earlier that week, by stealing £300 worth of DVDs and the next day attempted to lean over the counter to unsuccessfully open the till.

He committed the offences just two weeks after being given a suspended jail sentence for two burglaries at a medical centre in Hinckley. 

What the judge said

Judge Robert Brown said of the WHSmith offences: "The manager very bravely tried to block your escape and removed your mask that would enable you to be identified and she followed you out of the store and tried to stop you driving away.

"An hour and 20 minutes later you were in Burbage armed with an axe and entered a shop with your face covered and carrying a tomahawk type of axe and demanded money from the woman at the counter who screamed ... and her husband tried to detain you."

He said there was a break in the defendant's drug related behaviour between 2011 until February of this year and in the intervening time he had "held a position of responsibility" in an organisation that assisted those suffering from drug addiction.

The judge said: "If anybody knew how to access help, where to get help and how to go through the process it was surely you.

"Your family are in court and they will suffer the consequences of your criminal acts which will deprive them of being with you.

"I accept you have two children, aged four and eight, and your wife is six months pregnant with your third child.

"But the public have to be protected and the fact you were on drugs at the time is not a mitigating feature, it's an aggravating feature."

The court heard the defendant was stopped by the police and arrested within an hour of leaving the scene of the Burbage shop he tried to rob.

Public commendations

Judge Brown said he was commending both the manageress of WHSmith and the Burbage shopkeeper who both tried to detain the masked armed robber for their "bravery and courage."

Both were awarded £300 from public funds.


Dharmendra Toor, mitigating, said there was a gap since in the defendant's early offending when he gave up drugs and from 2012 "took over a new life."

He initially worked as a volunteer at Nottingham's Studio House drug rehabilitation project, supporting addicts in recovery, before becoming a key worker, then a director and was promoted to managing director.

Mr Toor said: "It's rather unbelievable but he was the MD of the company."

He resigned in July 2018 after suffering a drugs relapse due to stress.

Mr Toor said: "He could no longer perform the function to help others with the same addiction that he had, because he was suffering from the same thing.

"This is a very good example as to how drugs can ruin someone's life."

"At the height of his recent addiction he was using £200 worth of heroin a day.

"He is utterly ashamed of his deplorable actions."

Charges and sentence

Grewcock admitted shoplifting, attempted theft and robbery at WHSmith as well as attempted robbery and making threats with a bladed article in Burbage.

He was jailed for a total of seven years and 10 months. 

Police statement

Detective Constable Krupa Parmar said: “Grewcock caused fear and distress for people carrying out their work and it is fortunate that no-one was injured in the incidents. My thanks go to the victims of these offences who co-operated with us throughout the investigation leading to these guilty pleas today.”