Robbery bid man jailed

[Nwicker60]

"Dreadful experience" for post office staff who called the bluff of raider carrying what appeared to be a concealed weapon

A MAN, who made a bungled bid to hold up a Wick sub-post office, was jailed for fifteen months yesterday.
Eric Edmondson gave the impression he had a weapon underneath his covered left hand which, a sheriff commented must have contributed to " a dreadful experience" for the counter staff.
Edmondson admitted on indictment having attempted to carry out the robbery at the Pulteneytown sub-post office in Wick, on November 8, last year.
The town's sheriff court heard that the 57-year-old had fallen on hard times. He had not received benefit for a month prior to the robbery attempt. Charity food parcels had run out and he had not eaten for a few days.
The would-be robber was carrying a holdall, and a jacket wrapped around his left hand when he entered the P.O in Smith Terrace, Wick. Edmondson presented the holdall to the two assistants and ordered them to "fill it". But the pair remained calm and told him he wasn't getting any cash - one of them pressing an alarm button, at the same time.
Edmondson, of 2 Caberfeidh Court, Wick, lost his nerve and "legged it" but was traced and arrested. He told police, who traced him that he was desperate for money. The court was told that one of the post office assistants was pregnant and suffered "severe stress and trauma".
That aspect, in particular, upset the accused, his solicitor Patrick O' Dea told Sheriff Andrew Berry.
Mr O' Dea said that the assistants were to be commended for their "fortitude" in facing Edmondson down.
Sheriff Berry said that such a robbery attempt, struck at the confidence of people conducting their daily businesses in a peaceful manner, not expecting to have to face such criminal acts.
The sheriff expressed the hope that the prison sentence would help deter anyone tempted to commit a similar crime.