DRAMATIC footage shows the moment a robber wrestled a shopkeeper before smashing his way out of a locked door.

Ahmed Said tried to grab the till at the Cave a Fromage shop in Western Road, Hove, and threatened to hit Istram Dabronyi.

He then smashed his way out of the locked shop after Mr Dabronyi had fled, before casually walking away.

Said, who is a paranoid schizophrenic, also robbed a shopkeeper in East Street, Brighton, and Subway at the Old Steine on the same night.

He brandished a broken bottle and shouted “I will kill you,”

At Hove Crown Court Judge Jeremy Gold QC ruled that 31-year-old Said posed a serious risk to the public, and detained him under the Mental Health Act.

Jennifer Grey, prosecuting, said Said went to Sparkling in East Street on May 30 and demanded cash.

She said: “He threatened the shopkeeper with a bottle, the shopkeeper was extremely scared, trying to stop himself from being stabbed during a scuffle.”

Two hours later Said was back at the Subway where he vaulted over the counter and ripped the till out before running off.

In July, Said admitted burgling City Books and the Buon Appetito restaurant in Hove, and also admitted robbery and criminal damage at Cave a Fromage.

The Argus:

He caused huge damage to the smashed glass, and the shop has since had to close.

Said casually strolled away from the shop in front of shocked witnesses after the brazen raid in July.

In court it was revealed that Said had started taking class A drugs, which had caused him to become psychotic.

He was first diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia in 2006.

Charles MacDonald, defending, told the judge that Said, of Marine Parade, Brighton, has previously not shown a tendency for violence during psychotic episodes.

But doctors agreed that the threats to kill the shopkeeper at Sparkling meant Said was a danger to the public.

Dr Nektarious Kouvarakis and Dr Richard Nonne told the judge that a bed would be available for Said at Hellingly secure hospital in East Sussex.

Judge Gold QC said: “He clearly does suffer from paranoid schizophrenia and clearly needs treatment.”

He ordered that Said was detained under Section 37 of the Mental Health Act and said treatment could take two or three years.

When Said is released into the community, he will be subject of a Section 41 restriction order, which means he can be recalled back to hospital for mental health treatment if he shows any sign of causing danger.

The Argus:

The judge told Said: “I am quite satisfied that there is a continuing and serious risk to the public.

“I hope the treatment has a beneficial effect.

“It is in your own interest that you get a level of support when you are released to prevent you getting into trouble again.

“I hope you come to terms with the fact that taking class A drugs is wholly inconsistent with your mental state.”