A robber who held up two taxi drivers while armed with a television remote control wrapped in tin foil has been jailed.
Scott Taylor admitted targeting two cabbies and demanding cash after being picked up by the drivers.
In the first robbery he managed to make off with £30 – but was stopped in the second when his female victim told him to “f*** off”.
Fiscal depute Saima Rasheed told Dundee Sheriff Court: “He said it was never his intention to harm anyone.”
Taylor, 33, a prisoner at Perth, pleaded guilty to robbing David McManus on May 31 and attempting to rob Lynne Cowan on June 2 in Charleston.
Solicitor Mike Short said Taylor had been in a desperate situation when he carried out the attacks.
He said: “He had addiction problems and was constantly being threatened.
“He was in debt, though the debt was not his.
“He is embarrassed by his behaviour and has managed to rid himself of his drug addiction in custody.”
Sheriff Alastair Carmichael jailed Taylor for 20 months.
He said: “They didn’t know you were holding a remote control adapted to look like a knife. They simply knew it was a weapon and they were being threatened with it.”
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