A DESPERATE gambler who owed £20,000 to loan sharks held up a female bookie in a bid to recoup his losses.

Father-of-one Mohammed Mahroof, 30, pretended to have a gun when he held up Deborah Yarwood at the Betfred shop in Market Street, Nelson, Burnley Crown Court was told.

Known to staff as The Big Better', Mahroof was seriously in debt as the result of his addiction to electronic roulette machines, the court was told.

He escaped with nearly £6,000 after manhandling Miss Yarwood and demanding that she opened the bookmaker's safe there.

The robbery had left the victim suffering from significant trauma and she still suffered panic attacks, said prosecutor Sarah Statham.

Mahroof, of Lime Street, Nelson, admitted robbery and was jailed for two years by Judge Andrew Woolman.

Miss Yarwood had arrived to carry out an evening shift at the Nelson office on January 18 and the manageress had pointed out Mr Mahroof, who was known to have bet heavily that day and caused a minor disturbance.

But he left the store without incident shortly afterwards, the court heard.

However he had met up with a friend nearby and, without telling him what he intended, asked him for his jacket, a cap, gloves and to swap shoes.

Later Mahroof returned to the shop and was one of only two customers remaining, so Miss Yarwood decided to clear up and opened a back office.

Suddenly she felt a shove to her back and was confronted by Mahroof, who told her: "I am going to take your money, I really am."

He then pulled out wires connected to the gambling machines and telephones and demanded that Miss Yarwood open the safe.

Pushing her again and reaching inside his jacket, he said: "I have got a gun, get on the floor, get on your knees."

Miss Statham said: "She honestly believed that he had a gun and she felt herself starting to shake."

The court heard that Mahroof escaped with just short of £6,000. He returned to his friend's car and told him to drive away quickly.

Police studied CCTV footage from the bookies and later officers visited Mahroof's home and found the stolen cash in his cellar.

Saul Brody, defending, said his client owed £20,000 to loan sharks, as a result of his gambling problems and they had made threats against him and his family.

Mr Brody described the roulette machines as the "crack cocaine" of gambling as they were so easily accessible and people could get into debt quickly.

The defendant, a business studies graduate and former IT teacher in Nelson, wished to apologise to his victim for the offence, which was "completely out of character".