Darren Hunter and William Appleby jailed for wallpaper 'gun' robbery
Two masked men who held up a bookmaker's shop by pretending a roll of wallpaper hidden in a bag was a gun have been jailed.
Darren Hunter, 31, and William Appleby, 37, stole £2,000 from Ladbrokes in Leith Walk, Edinburgh, on 4 July.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard that Appleby's sister had repaid the cash.
Appleby, from Edinburgh, was jailed for three years and nine months. Hunter, who appeared from custody, was sentenced to four-and-a-half years.
Judge Lord Uist told them: "It is intolerable that employees in any type of shop should be subjected to such treatment."
After watching CCTV footage of the raid, Lord Uist said the "weapon" certainly looked like a gun, particularly because of the way it was being held by Appleby.
Police investigating the raid found the roll of wallpaper, along with clothing worn by the robbers.
Appleby and Hunter admitted assault and robbery in the Ladbrokes in Crichton Place, part of the city's Leith Walk.
The court heard how manager Craig Winton put banknotes into a bag held by Hunter, fearing his life was in danger.
A number of customers were in the shop at the time.
The court heard Appleby had been smoking cannabis since he was 10 years old and had been diagnosed with schizophrenia when he was 17.
Solicitor advocate Euan Roy, for Hunter, said the former labourer, tyre fitter and roofer had managed to control his drug problems for a time.
However, he relapsed into depression when he split up with a long-term girlfriend and started taking drugs again.