A HOODIE thug who carried out a knifepoint robbery that led to the permanent closure of Churt's post office service has been sentenced to three years in a Young Offenders' Institute. Paul Carlson, 19, pointed the blade at terrified 60- year-old postmistress Geraldine Harris and ordered her to hand over the cash box containing more than £3,000. He had earlier prowled around outside the mobile post office in the Churt Village Hall while staying with a relative nearby and spotted the lack of security before choosing his moment to strike. Carlson, of no fixed address, was sentenced at Guildford Crown Court after pleading guilty to robbery. Wendy Cottee, prosecuting, said that Carlson arrived at his grandmother, Barbara Lee's house in the village on March 31 this year and stayed with her for just over a month until the day after the raid. "During that time there were a number of things that raised his grandmother's suspicions when she heard there was a robbery in the village." The court heard that Mrs Lee had earlier found a kitchen knife under his bed, and he had asked when the post office was open. On April 30 the defendant was seen loitering around the village hall, looking menacingly through a window. The day after that Carlson walked into the hall at 4 -25pm and approached the post mistress who was sitting behind a desk and she asked if she could help. He pulled out the knife and pointed to the cashier tin. Mrs Harris handed over the money and he fled. The following day he got a train to London and made four cash deposits into his bank account totalling £3,055 - the amount that was taken. The cash was never recovered and the post office was closed down - leaving pensioners needing to travel to collect their money. Carlson was arrested on May 25 and told officers that he had already spent the cash. Mrs Harris picked him out in an ID parade. David Castle, defending, said that Carlson had got into the habit of carrying a knife after he was attacked and stabbed while he was homeless. He said: "The offence was clearly to some extent premeditated. He had been in the post office on a previous occasion simply to acquire his benefits. "It seems he spied out the very poor security that was in place at the village hall." Recorder Francis Bacon said that the post office was small and "particularly vulnerable to being attacked". He said: "The only way the court can provide protection for such small post offices and small businesses is by making clear that people who commit this type of crime will be punished severely." He added that the robbery traumatised Mrs Harris and "has also had the unfortunate consequence that the post office that did fulfill an important role in that community closed with immediate effect, and that is a consequence of what you have done".