Hapless youth who tried to rob his local store spared jail

A TEENAGER who was caught out trying to rob his local corner shop when staff recognised his voice has escaped a prison sentence.

Hapless Callum Clark lives just 150 yards from the small store which he tried to raid wearing a mask and holding a knife.

But the 16-year-old's demands for cash failed and when he threatened he would return, the shopkeeper answered: "Is that you, Callum?"

During the attempted robbery in Bilston, Midlothian, Clark told the shopkeeper to empty the till. The shocked worker replied: "Are you kidding?"

Yesterday, at Edinburgh Sheriff Court, Clark was handed a two-year probation order and told to serve 150 hours of community service work. The teenager had earlier pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery in July last year.

He went into the shop in Park Avenue wearing a homemade mask, but shopkeeper Alexander Stewart told him to "beat it".

As the would-be thief ran away, he shouted that he would be back – at which point the shopkeeper recognised the youngster's voice.

Gillian Law, defending, told the court that her client was determined to tackle his problems.

But Sheriff Fiona Reith said that she was concerned at the gravity of the crime for someone so young.