A bungling criminal who smashed his way inside a bank machine claims he did it because his bank card had been swallowed.
Lee Wilson appeared at Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court where he admitted forcing open the ATM on Pentland Place on September 14 last year.
The 39-year-old created a man-sized hole in the wall before crawling into a locked safe room which contained more than £21,000, during the early morning break-in.
Despite being inside for around 20 minutes, Wilson left the scene empty-handed but was rumbled after cutting himself and leaving traces of blood at the scene.
Wilson, of Lomond Gardens in Kirkcaldy, was jailed for 18 months for his actions, which his own defence solicitor described as “doomed to failure from the start”.
Depute fiscal Sarah Lumsden told the court the ATM was located on the side of the building occupied by Treble Twenty Taxis and only select employees had access to the safe.
She said: “At the time of the incident, £21,290 was within the safe and the ATM was in good working order.
“At around 4am, a witness who lived near the premises heard loud banging coming from the location of the locus which continued for several minutes before going completely silent.”
A motion sensor inside the safe room was triggered by Wilson’s movements and the police were contacted.
Miss Lumsden added: “The hole created was big enough for a person to squeeze through. Three blood traces were found and DNA belonging to the accused was found.
“While the theft was unsuccessful, the substantial damage to the ATM and its reinforced surrounding amounted to a sum of £13,680.”
Defence solicitor Nigel Cooke told the court his client had not intended to steal the cash but had been trying to retrieve his bank card which he claims was retained by the machine.
Mr Cooke said: “Mr Wilson has an unenviable record of previous convictions although his last conviction was in 2015.
“The situation which led to this incident was that he had been unemployed for many years but had then been successful in gaining some casual work from a local scrap merchant.
“He was making his way to work when he went to the cash machine with the view to taking money out.
“The cash machine didn’t work in the sense that his card was retained. He has a history of drug abuse which is now under control.
“But he tells me that the previous evening, he had consumed some valium.
“When the card was retained, he admits to ‘going mental’ and he kicked the machine which broke the panel which opened up into the safe, allowing him to force his way into the machine.
“The explanation may seem to be unlikely. However, bits of casing from the machine were strewn around the area. This might support the fact that Mr Wilson had some loss of control at the time.”
Mr Cooke told the court that after forcing his way into the safe room, Wilson remained there for around 20 minutes before fleeing.
He said: “The attempt to break into the machine was wholly unsuccessful and all he managed to do was injure himself in the course of the break-in.
“It was clearly doomed to failure from the start.”
Sheriff James Williamson ordered the bungling crook to spend 18 months behind bars.
