[/caption]
A MAN who attempted to rob a bookies handed the cash back to the cashier when she started crying.
The employee was then able to keep the would-be robber talking while she waited for the police to arrive after secretly raising the alarm with a panic button.
Kieran ONeill (30), who had asked for the judge hearing his case at the Royal Court on Friday to ban him from pubs and clubs as part of his sentence, had gone into Ladbrokes betting shop in La Motte Street on 29 November and asked the lone cashier to give him the money.
But when she handed him £60, he gave it back when she became tearful, and then started chatting to her about his life and hobbies as if nothing had happened.
ONeill was given 12 months probation, 180 hours of community services and was banned from entering pubs and clubs for 12 months.
