An armed robber whose botched bid to hold up a post office in Fife 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 Abbey View, Dunfermline, in June 2024.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how Danskin walked into the shop wearing a balaclava and brandished a weapon described in court as “indistinguishable” from a real gun.
Danskin demanded staff member Cheryl Gourlay fill a bag with money before jumping over the counter to grab her.
Brave Cheryl put herself in front of the till and refused to comply.
More staff then jumped in, with one wresting the pistol – actually an airsoft gun – out of Danskin’s hand while punching him.
Others pulled Danskin’s balaclava off his head, wrestled him to the ground and restrained him until the police arrived.
The court heard Danskin has a conviction for a similar offence in 2007.
Sentencing
On Thursday, Danskin returned to court for sentencing and Lord Scott heard the crack cocaine addict committed the crime to pay off a £1,000 drug debt to dealers who had threatened to kneecap him.
The judge said: “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.”
Ordering him to be supervised for a period of two years and four months following his release from prison, Lord Scott added: “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.”
Danskin, of Dunfermline, pled guilty earlier this year to assault and attempted robbery.
‘Desperate’ addict
Prosecutor Anna Chishoim said that following his arrest, Danskin told police that he was not a “bad person”.
She added: “He said ‘me and my girlfriend have a £1,000 crack debt. In a weird way I wanted to get caught so I could to jail and be safe there’.”
Defence solicitor advocate Ann Ogg told the court her client had led a “pro-social” life before he became addicted to crack.
She 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 trying to pluck up the courage to go in.”
Danskin sustained “bruised” ribs from staff members but Ms Orr added: “He doesn’t in any way seek to blame anybody. He wants to apologise for what he did.”
Lord Scott told Danskin if he had not pled guilty he would have received a seven-year jail term.
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