A MASKED man who brandished a hammer at post office staff before demanded money is behind bars.

Kieran David Hodson was today jailed for holding up the Filey Road branch in Scarborough while he was masked and brandishing a hammer.

The 24-year-old hit the security screens with the hammer then threw a bag at a member of staff and demanded they filled it with cash during the incident in March.

However, he fled empty handed after the employee refused to do it and told him where to go.

Police were called to the shop after the panic alarm was activated and detectives at Scarborough CID launched an investigation.

Hodson, of Scarborough, was arrested following a public appeal for information. He made no comment in police interviews. But evidence linked him to the crime.

He pleaded guilty to attempted robbery when the case reached court and was jailed for two years at York Crown Court today.

Detective Constable Nick Burton, who led the investigation for Scarborough CID, said: “For reasons best known only to him, Hodson thought holding up a post office was a good idea.

“Obviously it wasn’t, especially due to the fact he had to leave empty handed after a brave employee told him where to go.

“While we never advise victims of crime to do anything that would put them in even more danger, it’s clear that this blunt and robust response prevented cash being stolen during the incident.

“Hodson’s prison sentence comes just a few weeks after he committed his crime and takes yet another violent offender off North Yorkshire’s streets.”