Robber's terrifying knifepoint countdown to Kettering hotel worker as he threatened her

A knifepoint robber told a Kettering hotel worker she had 10 seconds to follow his orders or he would ‘f*** her up’.

Lee Nelson was staying at the A14 Travelodge, having been put there by a council housing team because he was homeless, when he threatened a lone member of staff.

A judge was told he committed the ‘foolish’ offence because he wanted to be arrested so he could get the help he needed.

On Friday (March 8) the 37-year-old was locked up for more than three years after pleading guilty to robbery.

Northampton Crown Court heard Nelson had only recently been released from hospital, where he had been with a serious illness, when he was given accommodation at the budget hotel between junctions 9 and 8 westbound. Days later, at about 3am on October 5 last year, he knocked on the door of a woman who was working in the hotel office on her own and asked if she could help him.

Prosecutor Micaila Williams said: “He pushed a knife through the crack of the door and forced his way in.

"He said ‘give me the tills, where are your car keys, hurry up’.”

Nelson, who appeared at court over videolink from HMP Peterborough, was shouting, angry and smelled of wine. The hotel employee tried to calm him down without success.

Ms Williams said: “He said ‘I will f*** you up, you have got 10 seconds’. He began to count down.

"The victim told him he could have the money from the safe. He took the contents and dropped the knife.”

The court heard Nelson began to demand her car keys but she had been dropped off at work and gave him her handbag instead.

Nelson led the victim to another room, making her walk ahead of him, but she pretended she didn’t know the door code.

When he began counting down from 10 again she opened the door and went in first before bravely slamming it behind her before Nelson could enter.

Sentencing, Recorder Timothy Green KC said: “No doubt she was exceptionally frightened.”

Nelson made off with just £50, some spare hotel room keys and key fobs and was arrested at the nearby BP petrol station. Police officers found him wearing a blue Travelodge shirt with gardening gloves and pliers as well as keys taken in the robbery. He admitted what he had done when he was interviewed.

The court heard the robber has convictions for 95 previous offences dating back to 2001. He was jailed for 38 months for burglary in 2020.

Mitigating, Paul Vickers said Nelson had nowhere to go when he was released from hospital in the pouring rain without his medication for mental health issues. He said the robber was at a ‘very low ebb’ and had consumed two bottles of wine, mixed with prescribed diazepam, when he carried out the offence.

He said: “It was simply he almost wanted to be arrested so he could be taken away, locked up and given the help he needs…it’s sad that someone comes before the court in a situation where when in a custodial setting they get the support they need.”

Mr Vickers said Nelson has ‘unverified’ paranoid schizophrenia and that he is remorseful for his actions.

He said: “It’s a sad indictment of his poor problem solving skills that he could see only one way of getting the assistance he needed and that was to get himself arrested.

"He chose this foolish way of doing so.”

Recorder Green KC said the offence, taking into account aggravating and mitigating factors, carried a starting point of 70 months in prison.

He reduced that by 33 per cent because of Nelson’s plea and gave him extra credit for admitting the offence when he was interviewed, reducing the prison sentence to 44 months.

Nelson will serve up to half in custody before being released on licence.