A ROBBER who threatened shop staff with hypodermic needles during two raids was found by police hiding in a bin.

Jonathan Moores first targeted workers at the Co-op store in Charminster Road on Saturday, December 31 last year.

After walking into the store at around 9.30am, Moores picked up a bottle of whiskey and walked towards the door.

As he did so, he took a syringe from his pocket and threatened members of staff before leaving with the bottle.

Police viewed shop CCTV of the incident and quickly identified Moores.

In the second incident, which took place at around 3.10pm on Tuesday, January 3, Moores visited Maplin in Commercial Road.

He was seen by two members of staff to pick up two hard drives.

The workers challenged Moores, and he verbally threatened them before brandishing a needle.

After leaving the store, Moores, who is of no fixed abode, went into the car park and was seen to hide in a commercial bin.

Police were called to the scene.

When officers arrived, they found the 36-year-old hiding inside the bin and arrested him.

The hard drives and an uncapped needle were found in his jacket pocket.

He was subsequently charged.

Moores pleaded guilty to two counts of robbery and two charges of possessing an offensive weapon.

He appeared before a judge at Bournemouth Crown Court on Thursday, February 2, and was jailed for three years and four months.

Detective Constable Ben Morgan, of Bournemouth CID, said: “Jonathan Moores was responsible for carrying out these cowardly robberies which must have been very distressing for the members of staff involved.

“I hope the sentence handed out by the court sends out a very clear message that robbery offences will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.”