A YOUNG robber punched a shop worker in the face, and used a knife to get hold of a victim’s motorbike.

The now 17-year-old was part of a group who broke into the Co-op in Southwick Square to steal cigarettes.

Store worker Warren Brooker heard a group giggling and approached, so the youth vaulted back over the counter and attacked him.

He knocked the glasses off Mr Brooker and left him stunned.

The youth also committed another robbery more than a year later when he targeted a young man on a motorbike.

Alongside an accomplice he brandished a blade at the man and took a motorbike at knifepoint in Moyne Road, Hove.

Mr McCabe reported the knife was held to his stomach.

The youth, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, was jailed for three years when he appeared before Brighton Crown Court.

Sophie Evans, prosecuting, revealed how the raid at the Co-op took place on November 25, 2018.

The youth was part of a gang stealing alcohol and tobacco, and took a second swing at Mr Brooker which was dodged.

Ms Evans said the youth was later in trouble with the police in November 2019 when he was found in possession of MDMA and cannabis with intent to supply.

During his interview he begged the police not to take the drugs away. He told them: “People are after my family.”

Then in January last year he was with an accomplice who together robbed Mr McCabe. The motorcycle was later recovered and returned to the victim.

He also has six previous convictions for 14 offences, which also included robbery and possessing drugs.

Natasha Dardashti, defending him, said her client had made progress in prison and hopes to turn his life around.

Meanwhile a youth named Elliott Ben-Sellem, who can now be identified after he turned 18, was among the group who broke in.

Ben-Sellem, of St Michael’s Avenue, Northampton, admitted burglary, and also admitted a separate burglary in Seaford Road, Hove on December 1, 2019.

He told police he was under the influence of drugs and had missed his train home, so broke in to steal a jacket because he was cold.

Ben-Sellem was sentenced to a community order and intervention programme, with 20 rehabilitation sessions.

Her Honour Judge Shani Barnes said the offences had happened when he was younger, and said he has kept out of trouble since.