A teenager who carried out two armed robberies on fast food outlets in Willesden and Cricklewood on the same night has been jailed for seven years.

Mario Madeo, 19, and another man stormed their first takeaway in High Road, Willesden, and jumped over the counter before threatening a worker with a handgun.

The pair emptied the shop’s tills before fleeing along Park Avenue on May 25 around 11p

Firearm officers who were called to the scene searched the area before spotting the pair less than a mile away in Cricklewood Broadway.

The crooks had just carried out a second armed robbery on another fast food outlet and Madeo was caught as he tried to flee the premises through the fire exit.

His accomplice managed to escape and the hunt continues to find him.

Madeo, from Tottenham, north London, told officers that he had been forced by a group of men and threatened with a gun if he didn’t commit the robbery in Cricklewood.

However he later admitted two counts of robbery and two counts of possessing an imitation firearm whilst committing robbery and last week at Harrow Crown Court he was jailed for seven years.

Detective Constable Adrian Whitewick from the Flying Squad said: “This was a planned and organised set of armed robberies. It must have been a terrifying experience for the staff that were robbed at gunpoint late at night. This sentence shows that the Met will act quickly to detain and bring to justice anyone those that seek to carry out such brazen attacks.

“I am pleased that the imitation handgun used in the robbery is now off the streets. Efforts are continuing to bring Madeo’s accomplice to justice.”