Bungling teenaged bank raider jailed

Police cordoned off High Street in Newbridge

A teenager planned a bank robbery in Wales after reading a newspaper report which claimed police were unable to cope with crime.

Cardiff Crown Court heard how 19-year-old Cemalettin Ortancil travelled from his home in theTooting area of London to rob the HSBC bank in Newbridge, south-east Wales.

He was armed with a replica magnum revolver which he bought two weeks before when he began planning the raid.

People near the bank reported hearing gunshots

The court heard he had read a story in a tabloid newspaper which said that there were serious crime problems in south Wales and police were unable to cope.

Prosecutor Susan Ferrier said the defendant thought he could away with the robbery if he made the journey to Wales by bus, and made his getaway the same way.

But his plan failed. As he raided the bank in High Street last October, he was shot by a Gwent Police marksman.

He was taken into police custody after being treated at the Royal Gwent Hopsital in Newport for a shoulder injury.

Warehouseman Ortancil admitted possessing a firearm, using a firearm with intent to resist arrest and robbery.

He was sentenced to 11 years youth custody.