A MASKED man who robbed two Greenock shops in one day armed with an axe, a hammer and a knife has been jailed for more than two years.

Jamie O'Brien made off with just £60 in cash, 40 cigarettes and two bottles of booze as a result of his crimes, which left his victims 'hysterical' and 'in shock'.

O'Brien, 27, initially burst into the Usave shop on Roxburgh Street wielding the axe and smashing it against the counter before hitting the Yorston store on Brachelston Street.

Prosecutor Emma Jeffrey told Greenock Sheriff Court how he repeatedly demanded, 'Give me the money!' as he wildly 'waved' the axe around.

The fiscal depute said: "A shop worker tried to calm the accused, but he continued and struck the counter with the axe.

"Two £20 notes were given to the accused, to which he said, 'Empty the till'.

"A further £20 note was handed over."

The court heard that O'Brien's mask, which had covered his face apart from his eyes, became loose and slipped to reveal his identity.

A woman customer made an excuse to go outside and see to a child, before dashing off in an 'hysterical' state to alert police.

O'Brien remained in the shop and demanded '40 smokes' and was asked which kind he would like, to which he replied: "Any kind!"

Miss Jeffrey said: "Two 20 packs of Player were handed over and the accused left with £60 and two packets of cigarettes.

"The shop worker was in a state of shock and distress."

O'Brien struck Usave at 8.45am on June 21 and raided the nearby Yorston outlet half-an-hour later.

Prosecutor Miss Jeffrey said: "The accused brandished a hammer and a small knife.

"He picked up two bottles of orange-flavoured MD 20-20 and left."

O'Brien — who has previous convictions for carrying a machete and armed robbery — didn't get the chance to enjoy his loot because police quickly found the two bottles of alcohol unopened in his fridge after officers spotted him in the street and stopped him for a weapon search.

He insisted to detectives: "I just took the two bottles, it was shoplifting, not a robbery."

When the Usave robbery was put to him, he said: "I never done that."

Defence lawyer David Tod said: "Nothing I am going to say will excuse Mr O'Brien's behaviour.

"His record to all intents and purposes stops in 2012.

"He got a partner and there was a child from the union and that caused him to change the way he was living and he had employment for two years.

"That terminated because he was the victim of a road traffic accident and injured his back.

"There was a downward spiral which led to the actions carried out.

"June 21 was the date he ran out of money and in a drug-addled state he did what he did."

Sheriff Andrew McIntyre said: "A prison sentence is inevitable."

The sheriff jailed O'Brien for 28 months, backdated to June 25 when he was first remanded in custody.