Paul Lawman vaulted the counter of the Premier Inn brandishing a plastic bag with a stick inside which he had shaped to look like a gun
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A blundering robber tried to hold up a hotel with a TWIG before being fought off and fleeing empty-handed on his bike.
Paul Lawman vaulted the counter of the Premier Inn at Heald Green, Stockport, in the bizarre heist bid.
Brandishing a plastic bag with a stick inside which he had shaped to look like a gun, Lawman threw a bag at the 23-year-old receptionist and shouted ‘give me the money’.
The woman called for help from her manager, who grappled with Lawman even though he believed the thug was armed with a gun.
During the struggle the bag containing the twig ripped and revealed Lawman’s ‘weapon’.
He fled the scene on his bike, chased by the 25-year-old manager.
The hapless crook, of Royalthorn Drive, Benchill, was caught after leaving behind the stick and the bag with his fingerprints on it. He tested positive for the drug ecstasy, and has now been jailed for four years after admitting attempted robbery and possessing an imitation firearm.
The hotel manager suffered soreness to the back of his neck after his struggle with Lawman on the night of October 20.
Maria Brannan, prosecuting, said: “(The victim) says in his statement that he genuinely thought this male was pointing a handgun at him. He feared for his life and he’s worried it’s going to happen again and that the man will come back for him.”
The receptionist ended up locking herself in the office as her boss struggled with Lawman. The attempted robbery left her feeling ‘very shocked and shaken up’, ‘jumpy’ and struggling to sleep. She has quit her job.
The court heard Lawman has convictions for 96 previous offences.
They include seven other robberies or attempted robberies and an aggravated car theft where the owner jumped on the bonnet to try and stop him, clinging on for a mile-and-a-half before being thrown off.
Janet Ironfield, defending, said Lawman had not committed a robbery since 1994.
“It appears he was feeling frustrated, he was out on the streets, and the idea appears to have occurred to him when he walked past the Premier Inn.
“This is not an offence for which there’s any evidence that the defendant planned in advance a means of attack on the Premier Inn, other than at the spur of the moment, when what he did was equip himself with useful items from the car park.”
Recorder Tina Landale, sentencing, said it was ‘inconceivable’ that the ‘terrifying’ robbery bid was not planned.