An armed robber whose attempt to hold up a Dunfermline post office was foiled by courageous workers has been jailed.

Robert Danskin, 36, was tackled by staff members at the NISA local store in Abbeyview in June 2024.

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

He brandished a weapon described in court by prosecutor Anna Chisholm as a “realistic” imitation gun. She also said it looked “indistinguishable” from a real gun.

Danskin demanded staff member Cheryl Gourlay fill a bag with money before jumping over a counter and assault her by seizing her body.

But brave Cheryl 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.

Court staff then played the minute long incident which had been captured on CCTV cameras.

Lord Scott saw colleagues run over to the counter - one staff member wrestled the pistol out of Danskin’s hand whilst punching him.

His colleagues pulled Danskin’s balaclava off his head, wrestle him to the ground and restrain him there until the police arrived to arrest him.

The court heard that Danskin had a conviction for a similar offence in 2007. Lord Scott deferred sentence to obtain a report on the accused’s bravery - he also commended Cheryl and her colleagues for their “real bravery”.

On Thursday, Danskin returned to court for sentencing and Lord Scott heard that the accused committed the crime to pay off a £1,000 drug debt.

Having heard from defence solicitor advocate Ann Ogg about how Danskin had become addicted to crack cocaine, Lord Scott told him he had to go prison for the offence.

He 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.”

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.

“Ms Ogg has acknowledged that the gravity of the charge to which you have pleaded guilty to has resulted in the inevitability of a custodial sentence.”

The story emerged after Danskin, also of Dunfermline, pleaded guilty earlier this year to assaulting Cheryl Gourlay whilst wearing a mask on his face.

The charge to which Danskin admitted stated that he acted aggressively whilst demanding money and brandishing an imitation firearm at her.

He also admitted to seizing and pulling her on the body whilst attempting to rob her of money.

Footage of the failed raid went viral on X earlier this year.

Social media users saw Danskin climbing over the post office counter in an alleged attempt to take the contents of the till.

Social media users named the man who disarmed Danskin as Bob. They witnessed him punching Danskin on the head before wrestling the gun from him with the help of other staff.

More than 27,000 people have liked and shared messages of support beneath the video of the incident, which has been viewed over two million times on X.

Members of the community in Dunfermline then launched a fundraiser to thank the post office staff for putting “their lives at risk” to disarm the robber and “save” shoppers.

On Wednesday, Ms Chisholm said that following his arrest, Danskin told officers that he wasn’t a “bad person”. She said that he was in debt to drug dealers and was concerned that he and his partner were going to be harmed by them.

She added: “He said ‘me and my girlfriend have a £1,000 crack debt. In a a weird way I wanted to get caught so I could to jail and be safe there.”

Ms Chisholm also told the court that police officers examined the firearm and found that that it was an Airsoft gun - Airsoft is a game similar to paintball.

The advocate depute said the gun had originally been covered in blue paint to keep it in line with firearms legislation.

She added: “But it has been removed at some point. This gives it the look of a realistic imitation firearm.”

Ms Chisholm also said that it in appearance it looked “indistinguishable” from a “real firearm”.

On Thursday, Ms Ogg told the court that her client had led a “pro social” life before he became addicted to crack.

The court heard that he and his partner had accumulated a £1,000 debt between them.

Ms Ogg said that her client decided to rob the post office because he was in a “desperate” situation.

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 of trying to pluck up the courage to go in.”

She said that Danskin sustained “bruised” ribs from being struck by the staff members.

She added: “He doesn’t in any way seek to blame anybody. 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 - the sentence imposed on him reflected his decision to plead guilty at the earliest opportunity.

The judge also told Danskin that he hoped he would seek assistance in custody to turn his life around.

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