AN AWOL soldier who had deserted his regiment because he could not cope with the rigours of army life was jailed for four years today - for trying to rob a Pizza Hut manager at gunpoint.

Brave Peter Berkow, manager of the takeaway in Quedgeley thwarted Kyle Etheridge-Tobin's robbery bid by 'launching at him' across the counter when the runaway soldier threatened him with a replica pistol, Gloucester crown court was told.

Etheridge-Tobin had walked into the takeaway as it was closing at 10.45pm on September 4 and pointed the gun at Mr Berkow, teling him "What the f*** - I'll shoot you."

At the time of the offence Etheridge-Tobin was at a low ebb after realising that army life was not for him, the court heard.

He had always dreamt of being a soldier and achieved his aim at the second attempt last year - only to go AWOL from his barracks at Catterick during his basic training in August.

Etheridge-Tobin, of Portreath Way, Kingsway, pleaded guilty to attempting to rob Mr Berkow and to having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an offence.

He was jailed for three years for the attempted robbery and one year consecutively for having the gas powered air gun which was disguised as a self-loading pistol.

Jailing him, Judge Michael Cullum said: "I don't see it as an aggravating feature that you had gone absent without leave from the British Army.

"Rather, I take it into account as evidence that you were at a very low ebb.

"You had changed dramatically since achieving your dream of joining the army in April.

"It is clear you were not able to cope with the demands, the rigours and the isolation of the training programme."

Prosecutor Janine Wood said Mr Berkow and two other staff were in the takeaway clearing up when Etheridge-Tobin walked in and threatened him.

"Mr Berkow was scared," she said.

"He confronted the defendant and launched forward to disarm him.

"The defendant punched him at least three times in the face which resulted in a swollen and bloodied lip.

"Mr Cash Ferguson, a delivery driver, appeared and between the two of them they managed to pull Mr Etheridge-Tobin to the ground and hold him there while they waited for the police to arrive.

"When officers attended the defendant said 'Someone else made me do it but I can't say who. I can't believe I'm here. It's not real. I am currently AWOL from the army and I need the money. The weapon was not loaded.'"

Interviewed later he said he was suffering from depression and his life had 'spiralled out of control.' He said he had deliberately not loaded the weapon.

Mr Berkow, in a victim impact statement, said he suffered ongoing pain in the back of the neck and from a split lip after the incident.

For the first week afterwards he felt scared of going to work and the incident had also affected his life at home because he did not want to go out and kept waking in the night.

Sarah Jenkins, defending, said the robbery bid had been 'unsophisticated and impulsive' and the only reason the Pizza Hut was chosen was because it was the closest place to Etheridge-Tobin's home that was still open that night.

"It was his local pizza takeaway and he had been a customer there. He could easily have been recognised.

"The explanation is that he was feeling depressed and this had been made worse since joining the army. He had gone AWOL and felt life had spiralled out of control - that is perhaps the most pertinent remark he made.

"His mother had suffered a stroke due to a hole in the heart and this had caused difficulties for her working and this had led to financial hardship in the household.

"This stress had worsened his mother's condition and this concerned him and he felt he should do something to help. He says this was the motivation for the robbery. He offers his apologies for his actions.

"He'd had a lifelong ambition to join the army. When he first tried there was a difficulty with a medical assessment. He persevered and was successful with his second application.

"He was at Catterick going through basic training and struggled with the environment he was in. There was an incident when he was denied weekend leave because of a fairly minor infraction of rules and he suffered more than he thought he might being in an environment that was a long way geographically from his family.

"His time at home was fairly limited and perhaps that had an effect on him. He came home in August and simply felt unable to go back. He did not disappear. Everyone knew he was at home.

"It was the realisation that his childhood dreams were not being fulfilled and the stress of his mother's illness and financial hardship that led to this."