Incredible moment Post Office heroes tackle 'armed thief' mid-robbery caught on stunning CCTV

This is the incredible moment heroes tackle an armed thief after his failed robbery was caught on "terrifying" CCTV.

High Court judge Lord Scott praised staff member Cheryl Gourlay after facing down 36-year-old armed robber Robert Danskin who tried to rob a shop in Dunfermline, Fife.

He walked into the shop wearing a balaclava brandishing a weapon described in court as a "realistic" fake gun that looked looked "indistinguishable" from a real weapon.

Danskin demanded Cheryl fill a bag with money before jumping over a counter and assaulting her. However, she bravely put herself in front of the till and refused to let him near the money. The brave worker then shouted for help as her co-workers came to her rescue.

Colleagues sprinted over to the counter and one staff member took the pistol out of Danskin’s hand whilst punching him. His colleagues pulled Danskin’s balaclava off his head, put him in a headlock and launched him to the ground and kept him there until cops arrived to arrest him.

The court was played the remarkable footage of the incident which had been captured on CCTV cameras.

Lord Scott is to defer sentencing after it was revealed Danskin had a conviction for a similar offence in 2007. He said: "I am inclined to call for reports. Notwithstanding the real bravery of a number of individuals who intervened, this must have been a terrifying incident in which no one other than the accused was aware that this wasn’t a real firearm."

Danskin pleaded guilty to assaulting Cheryl while wearing a mask on his face. He admitted he acted aggressively when demanding money and brandishing an imitation firearm at her. He also admitted to seizing and pulling her on the body whilst attempting to steal money.

Cheryl told the court that following his arrest, Danskin informed officers that he wasn’t a ‘bad person’. She said that he was in debt to drug dealers and feared being injured by them. She informed the judge: ‘He said “me and my girlfriend have a £1,000 crack debt. In a a way I wanted to get caught so I could to jail and be safe there”.’

The brave worker also told the court that police officers examined the firearm and found that that it was an Airsoft gun - which is similar to paintball. The gun had originally been covered in blue paint to keep so it wouldn't violate firearms legislation. She added: "But it has been removed at some point. This gives it the look of a realistic imitation firearm."

The judge, who called the incident "terrifying", said Danksin will be sentenced at the High Court in Glasgow next month.