A MASKED gunman who threatened to kill a shopkeeper as he raided a store has been given a nine-year sentence.

Vincent Stickings, aged 18, has been locked up for holding Masum Ahmed at gunpoint in his shop in Wickham Lane, Plumstead.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard Stickings, of Thwaite Close, Erith, screamed: "I'll kill you, open the till."

He hit the shopkeeper over the head with his gun before taking £400 during the raid on November 30 last year.

Stickings, who was on bail at the time for possessing cannabis and a knife, denied robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent.

He was found guilty and on April 28 was sentenced to nine years in a young offender institution.