Finlay Crawshaw, 21, has been sentenced to three years in prison for three counts of assault and robbery. The incidents occurred in November of the previous year, with one notable event where Crawshaw attempted to rob a convenience store but was forced to flee after the shopkeepers laughed at him.

CCTV footage from the News Plus store in Edinburgh's Gorgie area captured the moment Crawshaw entered on November 27 last year, brandishing a large kitchen knife and demanding money from the two employees. Instead of complying, the shopkeepers responded by laughing and stating there was no money in the till. Crawshaw, unnerved by their reaction, then left the store empty-handed.

Approximately 15 minutes later, Crawshaw proceeded to a nearby takeaway, where he used the same red-handled knife to rob two employees of an undisclosed sum of cash.

His criminal activity also included a prior robbery at the Slateford Express store on November 9 of the same year. During this incident, Crawshaw, with his face covered, entered the shop, brandished the knife, and demanded cash and cigarettes. After taking the items, he fled the scene. The assistant at this store managed to activate a panic alarm.

Appearing from custody at Edinburgh Sheriff Court on May 28, Crawshaw pleaded guilty to the three charges. He was remanded and subsequently sentenced on June 16. In addition to the three-year prison sentence, Sheriff Kenneth Campbell KC imposed a 12-month supervised release order.

But instead of handing over the cash the two employees began laughing at the cowardly thug and told him there was no money in the till, forcing the thief to run empty-handed

Fiscal depute Corey Laouadi informed the court that during the Slateford Express robbery, Crawshaw shouted "give me all the money" and reached over the counter. For the second and third robberies on November 27, Crawshaw entered the Chippy Junction takeaway, brandished the knife, and demanded the till be opened. He then took a quantity of cash before fleeing. Firearms officers were deployed in an attempt to apprehend the suspect, who was eventually arrested several days later. Police later raided two properties in the capital and seized the kitchen knife used in the attacks.