Pensioner ‘pleased’ with jail sentence for attacker who robbed him at ATM

A PENSIONER who had £150 snatched from him at a cash machine has spoken of his relief after the thief who attacked him was jailed.

Tony Bryan, 72, gave chase to Martin Low, who targeted him at the TSB machine on Lochee High Street last summer, but the crook got away.

A sheriff jailed Low for 10 months, with a court hearing that he was in the grip of a pernicious drug addiction at the time of the offence.

Speaking to the Tele following Low’s sentence, Mr Bryan said: “I think he deserved the 10 months and I am pleased with that sentence.

“I was shocked at the time and a bit shaken but I wasn’t hurt when he snatched the money from me.

“It was for my wife, Jackie, for the shopping.

“I got the money out of the TSB cash machine but he was behind me, and when the cash came out he crept up beside me and grabbed it.

“He quickly ran down St Mary’s Lane.”

Mr Bryan, originally from County Mayo in Ireland admitted he wasn’t as fit as he used to be and struggled to keep up as the thief ran down the street.

Following the attack, Mr Bryan headed to Lochee library where concerned staff called the police and made sure he was uninjured before police called at his home.

He added: “The police told me they got him the next morning after looking at CCTV from the bank, so he must have been known to them.”

Low, of Catterline Crescent, pleaded guilty to robbing Mr Bryan of £150 while on bail at TSB, High Street, Lochee, on July 29.

Prosecutor Saima Rasheed told Dundee Sheriff Court previously: “At around 5.30pm, the complainer left his home and walked towards the ATM.

“He was not aware of anyone behind him.

“He went to withdraw money and was forcibly knocked to the side by the accused, who grabbed the money and ran off.”

Defence solicitor Anika Jethwa said Low had suffered a serious withdrawal from crack cocaine, heroin and street Valium when he was first taken into custody.

She said that he was now stable on suboxone in a bid to tackle his addictions.

Although a social work report explored the possibility of a restriction of liberty order, Ms Jethwa said that Low appreciated the gravity of the offence.

She told the court that it was always Low’s intention to plead guilty to the offence.

When jailing Low, Sheriff Jillian Martin-Brown said: “In light of the concerns expressed in the report about a restriction of liberty order, I am not satisfied that would be an appropriate sentence to impose.”

Mr Bryan, a retired labourer, said that although his stolen £150 was never recovered and there was no way to recoup the lost cash, pals at Sandy’s Bar in Lochee – where he is a popular figure and known as “Irish Tony” – had a whip-round for him.

He added: “I never got a penny of the money back.

“But the boys in the pub at Sandy’s Bar had a collection and gave me something.

“I am not sure now how much it was, about £50-£60 which was very good of them.

“TSB said there was nothing they could do because my branch is the Santander down the town. And Santander told me they could not give me the money because it was a theft and not their policy.

“I am pleased with the sentence, but I don’t think he will learn in jail.

“Someone later told me that he had a problem with drugs, so I don’t think he will be able to learn his lesson in the prison,” he added.