Armed robber jailed after brave staff fight off his attempt to raid the tills

An armed robber whose attempt to raid a post office was foiled by courageous workers has been jailed for four years and eight months.

Robert Danskin, 36, was tackled by staff members at the NISA local store in Dunfermline, in June.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Danskin had earlier walked into the shop wearing a balaclava.

He brandished a weapon described by prosecutor Anna Chisholm as a 'realistic' imitation gun which looked 'indistinguishable' from a real one.

Danskin demanded staff member Cheryl Gourlay fill a bag with money before jumping over a counter and assaulting her by grabbing her.

But brave Ms Gourlay put herself in front of the till and refused to comply with his requests.

Ms Chisholm said: 'Cheryl Gourlay told him he wasn't getting money.'

She then shouted to her colleagues who came rushing to her help.

The court watched CCTV footage of the incident which showed a colleague wrestling the pistol out of Danskin's hand.

Staff pulled his balaclava off, wrestled him to the ground and restrained him until the police arrived.

The hearing was told the addict had a conviction for a similar offence in 2007.

He pleaded guilty in October to assaulting Ms Gourlay while wearing a mask, acting aggressively and brandishing an imitation firearm at her.

And he returned to court for sentencing on Thursday.

Lord Scott, who previously hailed the staff for their bravery, heard Danskin had committed the crime to pay off a £1,000 drug debt.

The judge told him he had to go to prison for the offence and added: 'I repeat what I said after watching the images of the staff who confronted you and stopped you succeeding in this robbery.

'They should be commended for as you well know they had no real way of knowing that the gun you had was not real.

'What they did saved you from receiving the longer sentence that you would have received had you succeeded.'

Lord Scott also made reference to how Danskin carried out the robbery to pay off the drug dealers who the court heard had threatened to kneecap him.

Ordering him to be supervised for a period of two years and four months following his release from prison, Lord Scott added: 'Such a debt does not justify in any way what you did.

'Your use of crack cocaine also does not provide any excuse for what you did.

'Given the nature of your offending, I am of the opinion that you pose a serious risk of harm to the public.'

Footage of the robbery attempt went viral on social media this summer with a fundraiser launched to thank the staff for putting 'their lives at risk' to disarm the man and 'save' shoppers.

Ms Chisholm told the court that following his arrest, Danskin insisted to officers that he wasn't a 'bad person' but was in debt to drug dealers worrying he and his partner were going to be hurt.

And defence solicitor advocate Ann Ogg told the hearing on Thursday that the couple owed £1,000 and added: 'He was given two hours to get the money otherwise he was going to be kneecapped.

'He describes how he spent the moments leading up to the robbery of trying to pluck up the courage to go in.'

Although bruised during the altercation in the shop, Ms Ogg said Danskin did not seek to blame anybody adding: 'He wants to apologise for what he did.

'He has asked me today to convey his apologies to the court.'

Lord Scott told Danskin that if he hadn't pleaded guilty he would have received a seven-year long jail term and hoped the would-be robber would use the time inside to find a way to turn his life around.

He added: 'I hope you get the help and support you need to remain drug free.'