A middle-aged professional man who bizarrely turne

A middle-aged professional man who bizarrely turned to
robbery has been shown mercy by a judge.

Armed with an air pistol he held up his local co-op.

Bespectacled George Mathieson, 52, who had earlier been
warned that jail was ‘almost inevitable’ heaved a heavy
sigh of relief as Recorder John Coffey imposed a 200
hours community service order.

The recorder showed mercy on jobless Mathieson, a married man,
after reading social inquiry and psychiatric reports about him.

Mathieson, a former quality control manager, of Fencepiece Road,
Fairlop, had pleaded guilty to robbery.

Snaresbrook Crown Court had heard how on February 8 this year he
walked into the co-op just doors away from his home and asked 17-year-
old assistant Laura Davies for cider, whisky, and cigarettes.

Mathieson refused to pay for them and pulled away the left
side of his jacket revealing the handle of what turned out to be an
unloaded air pistol, said Miss Tiffany Monro-Davies, prosecuting.

‘She thought he was joking but it appeared he was not,’ continued
counsel.

The victim later described how she was ‘very frightened’
when she realised it was not a prank.

But police who were called to the scene arrived quickly and
arrested Mathieson in the street after a customer pointed
him out.

The pistol was found to contain two empty cartridges.

Penniless Mathieson later told cops in interview that he went out
with the pistol ‘looking for a drink.

‘
He spoke of being unemployed for two years and having to rely on
his wife to bring money in.

Mr Peter Lodder, defending, said it was a ‘remarkable’ case
where a man who has never been in trouble before ‘suddenly walks
into a store and calmly carries out an armed robbery.

‘
He added: ‘Although the gun was shown, that was the extent of
it.

He did not take it out and point it.

‘His behaviour was foreign to his way of life and alien to his
principles.

‘
Mr Lodder had described Mathieson as a ‘broken man’ when he
originally asked the recorder to adjourn the case for a psychiatric
report to be prepared.

ENDS