Armed robber wearing plastic bag mask jailed after botched bus heist

A maskbungling robber cut eyeholes in his Buckfast shopping bag to use it as a when he tried to carry out an armed heist on a Stagecoach bus.

Hapless Stephen Robertson was found guilty after a jury failed to be fooled by the makeshift disguise he fashioned out of the plastic carrier bag.

They took just 15 minutes to return a unanimous guilty verdict after Robertson was dubbed “plastic bag man” during the trial at Perth Sheriff Court.

Sheriff Gillian Wade jailed him for 20 months and said: “You have been convicted of a serious offence which must have been quite startling for the bus driver.

“It was something of a botched attempted robbery but you had some sort of weapon and you had taken the trouble to cover your face, which would have caused more upset.”

Bus driver Simon Barlow told the jury how a man had put a shopping bag, with holes cut for the eyes, over his head to carry out an armed robbery on his vehicle.

Mr Barlow said the robber presented a pair of scissors at him as he tried to rob the Stagecoach bus.

Fiscal depute Michael Sweeney told the jury – watching proceedings on a nearby cinema screen – that Robertson was the villain in the makeshift disguise.

Mr Sweeney said: “When you think of a man in a mask being shown on a cinema screen you may be expecting a caped crusader or another superhero.

“But the man with the plastic bag on his head is not a superhero, he’s not a caped crusader, but he is the villain in this story.

“Your normal caped crusader would do his best to try and hide his identity from the public. Stephen Robertson – plastic bag man– wasn’t so successful.

Mr Barlow told the trial that the masked man told him: “Give me all your money. Don’t be a hero. It’s not worth it.”

Mr Sweeney said that Robertson had masked his face but was easily identified because he was wearing highly distinctive clothing and was captured on CCTV.

He said Robertson was wearing bright red shoes with white soles, grey tracksuit trousers with a large Nike logo and was walking with a crutch.

The whole incident was captured on the bus CCTV and Robertson was spotted entering a nearby flat around a minute after leaving the bus empty-handed.

Solicitor Paul Ralph, defending, said: “It has been his position throughout that he has no memory of that night.

“In particular that was down to the fact it was the day after his birthday and he was in the company of some of the gentlemen we saw on CCTV.

“At least one of the bags we saw was full of bottles of Buckfast and they were all partaking of that.

He is pretty horrified about what he did to Mr Barlow.

“We must give Mr Barlow credit for the way he handled matters.”

The court was told Robertson fled with nothing when it was pointed out to him that most payments were contactless and the driver only had a drawer of small change.

Robertson, 26, from Perth, was found guilty of trying to rob Simon Barlow by boarding a bus with his face masked, presenting scissors and demanding money in Scott Street, Perth, on May 18 last year.

A children’s charity is campaigning for a £100 million fund to support the health of babies and their carers.

NSPCC Scotland said the money is “vital” to ensure newborns have the best start in life.

It wants whatever Scottish government is elected in May to commit to providing the £100m Fair Start Fund to be invested in public services to ensure all young children receive care.

Joanna Barrett, policy and public affairs manager for NSPCC Scotland, said: “A baby’s experiences can have a profound impact on the rest of their life.

“Yet, this is a stage of life that is too often overlooked and under-supported.

“With plans to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child into Scots law, which places the rights of all children, including babies, on a statutory footing, it is vital we radically transform early childhood in Scotland – a challenge we urge the new government to fully embrace.

“We recognise that advances in early years policy have been made in Scotland in the last decade but this needs to be matched with funding.

“Huge investment is needed to ensure that all children in our country are offered the best start in life.

“Also, it is imperative that those who have experienced early adversity, including the effects of the pandemic, receive the specialist mental health support they and their carers need to heal and move on.”

“Huge investment is needed

PLASTIC BAG MAN: Stephen Robertson, right, was found guilty at Perth Sheriff Court of attempting to rob a bus while wearing a Buckfast bag as a mask.