Teen robber who admitted to hold-up sentenced to 45 months detention

• Callum Maxwell wielded an axe at a garage attendant in Linwood, Renfrewshire

• Maxwell admitted the crime when police picked him up over a separate incident

Callum Maxwell, 18, of Linwood, Renfrewshire, had his face masked with a scarf and wielded an axe at a female worker when he stole £80 from a filling station in the town’s Perimeter Road on 1 August last year.

The incident was caught on closed circuit television and discarded clothing was found nearby, but police were unable to identify the raider until Maxwell was picked up in connection with a separate incident.

He stated: “You know the garage? It was me. I was desperate. I owed people money.”

The High Court in Edinburgh was told that officers thanked Maxwell for his honesty, with the senior officer “observing that he did not think he had had anyone quite as honest as the accused before.”

The defence counsel, Laura Reilly, said Maxwell had understood there would be a man working at the garage shop that night and he was shocked to see a woman.

“Unfortunately, he did carry on with his plan of action. He is very apologetic that he became involved and particularly that a woman has been upset and scared as a result of his actings. The police said they had never experienced such a level of honesty,” said Ms Reilly.

Lord Bracadale said garage workers were vulnerable to robbery, and those who committed such crimes must expect lengthy sentences.

“It is to your credit that you are determined to improve your behaviour in the future,” he told Maxwell.

The judge said he would have imposed a five-year sentence, but it could be discounted because of Maxwell’s guilty plea. He ordered that the youth be supervised for a year at the end of the term.