Man robbed bookmakers with can of furniture polish

A bungling bankrupt hoped to clean up by holding up a bookie's - with a can of furniture spray. But James Thomson's criminal performance was less than polished, a court heard yesterday.

As he fled, he spilled money from his bags, attracting attention as he got into his girlfriend's car to flee the scene. Onlookers took the registration number and he was quickly traced.

But when detectives caught him, he had already blown the £674 he got in the raid - by gambling the lot in another bookie's. Thomson, 33, immediately confessed and told officers: "I went into the bookies with a can of Pledge and chanced my arm.



"It wasn't armed robbery. I wasn't aggressive. I'm bankrupt. I needed the cash."

A scarf and hat he had worn to conceal his identity were recovered along with the container of furniture polish.

Paisley sheriff Ruth Anderson put him on probation for three years and ordered him to have therapy for his depression. The court was told assessments showed he "didn't cope well with stress issues".