A WOMAN robber who made a mother fear for the safety of her four-month baby was today starting three years behind bars.

Sara Louise Green, 22, forced childhood friend Deborah Burns to hand over £20 as the victim was on her way to Haxby Road Nursery, said John Edwards, prosecuting, at York Crown Court.

The robber had taken the buggy containing Ms Burns' four-month-old baby while the mother withdrew money from a cash dispenser.

Then she made her demand.

"Because she (Ms Burns) was concerned for the safety of her baby, she gave the money straight away," said Mr Edwards.

The two women had known each other since they both went to the same nursery as children.

The incident in Vyner Street, The Groves, was the latest of a series of crimes in which Green demanded money off people in the street or cheated them out of cash by pretending to sell them cigarettes, York Crown Court heard.

"It is quite clear to me you were offending to finance a drug habit," said Judge Jim Spencer QC.

He jailed her for three years.

Green, of Falsgrave Crescent, off Burton Stone Lane, York, pleaded guilty to two robberies, two thefts and asked for four deceptions and one failure to answer police bail to be taken into consideration.

Her barrister Jonathan Carroll said since being remanded in custody, she had withdrawn from drugs and received drug counselling from a psychiatrist.

She had also started English and computing courses with a view to leading a more constructive life on her release.

Mr Edward outlined how Green forced a shop assistant to hand over £45 in Grosvenor Terrace, Clifton.

In a separate incident which lasted about an hour, she hassled a 13-year-old girl into handing over £20 by pretending she would change the note. In a third incident, she stole a bank card.

Green told police she had a heroin problem that cost her more than £10 a day.

Updated: 14:30 Tuesday, June 03, 2003