A LOWESTOFT woman was behind bars this week after she admitted an attempted robbery at a garage in the town.

Melissa Kerr, of Pier Terrace, was jailed for 20 months after pleading guilty to entering the BP garage shop at Mill Road in Lowestoft, threatening staff with a large kitchen knife and demanding they hand over money.

Ipswich Crown Court heard on Tuesday that the 39-year-old fled the scene after staff triggered an alarm and picked up a chair to defend themselves in the attempted robbery, which happened on Sunday, December 5 last year.

'Police were alerted just after 9.20pm,' a police spokesman said. 'Officers were at the premises within three minutes and immediately began a search for the woman after a description was given by staff. Within 20 minutes Kerr was arrested in St John's Road.'

In initial police interviews she denied the offence. However CCTV images and statements gathered by officers helped disprove her version of events.

Speaking after the case this week, Detective Inspector Darrell Skuse, of Waveney CID, said; 'The sentence given sends a message that attempted robberies with a weapon will be treated seriously by the courts and that you can expect to spend time in prison if you commit this type of offence.

'Kerr initially denied the attempted robbery but enough evidence was gathered by officers to prove her involvement, which is likely to have contributed to her later decision to plead guilty.

'We hope the sentence will give some reassurance to the members of staff who were threatened by her but still managed to raise the alarm and take prompt action to assist police in detaining her,' Det Insp Skuse added.