A Suffolk man who robbed a man at a cash point has walked free from court after a judge decided not to send him straight to prison.

Shane Borrett and two other men demanded £55 from Matthew Cleeter as he was withdrawing money at a cash point in Lowestoft shortly after midnight on February 20 last year, Ipswich Crown Court heard.

Borrett, 30, of Trafalgar House, Lowestoft, admitted robbery and was given a 12 month prison sentence suspended for 12 months and a rehabilitation activity requirement.

He was also given a four month curfew between 8pm and 7am and ordered to take part in a Thinking Skills programme.

Sentencing him Recorder Jonathan Ashley-Norman QC said: “Mr Cleeter was minding his own business taking money out of a cash point when you and two others accosted him and demanded £55. It must have been a terrifying incident for him.”

Mark Roochove, for Borrett, said his client had been drinking on the night in question and was determined to change his life around.