A 14-year-old boy terrified a pregnant shopkeeper while committing one of two armed robbery offences at convenience stores.

The judge and barristers removed their wigs and the boy sat out of the dock as graphic CCTV footage of him, masked and smashing up the till with a claw hammer, was played at Bradford Crown Court yesterday.

The boy, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted last month attacking the shops on consecutive days. He also asked the court to take into consideration an earlier offence of attempted robbery at a shop in Smiddles Lane, Bankfoot, Bradford, on October 30.

Prosecutor Abigail Langford said the boy disguised himself in a scarf and hooded top to rob Zuzana Gaborova at the Potraviny Dunko store in Gaythorne Road, West Bowling, at 6pm on December 11.

Miss Gaborova, who was two months pregnant, was alone on the shop floor.

Footage of the robbery showed the boy brandishing a claw hammer towards her and smashing up the till with it. He demanded money but escaped with only two packets of cigarettes after failing to wrench the till free from its electric flex.

Miss Gaborova told the police she feared for her life during the robbery.

The next day, the boy targeted the Nawaz General Store in nearby Rigton Street at 3.30pm. He attempted to rob shop assistant Liaqat Khan of money, repeatedly smashing the hammer on to the counter to reinforce his demands.

Miss Langford said Mr Khan seized the stool he had been sitting on to defend himself and then fended off the robber with a golf club. The boy fled empty handed.

He was caught after CCTV images of him committing the offences were published in the Telegraph & Argus.

He told the police he owned money to people in the city’s BD3 area and they had threatened to shoot him.

His solicitor, Ian Hudson, said he was pressured for £400 after drug dealing for a friend. He was look-out in the October robbery bid and did not go into the store.

Judge Peter Benson told the boy they were “grave offences” and he would have faced about six years in prison if he was an adult but the court’s powers were limited because he was 14 and had no history of committing crimes.

The judge sentenced the boy to a youth rehabilitation order for 12 months with advanced supervision and a three-month electronically monitored overnight curfew.