Two bungling robbers who crashed a stolen tanker through a call centre's front door before using the vehicle to repeatedly ram a cash machine have been sent to prison.

Dim wits George Nicol,37, and David Fowler,27, drove the sewage truck through the glass doors of the offices of banking firm HSBC in Blantyre, Lanarkshire, in October 2012.

The High Court in Edinburgh heard that the pair stole the vehicle from a firm in East Kilbride, Lanarkshire, late on October 19 2012.

The court heard heard how Nicol drove the truck a few hours later to HSBC.

His side kick Fowler followed behind him in a Skoda Octavia which had false number plates and a sawn off shotgun and ammo hidden in the boot.

The court heard how once the pair arrived at the premises, Nicol used the industrial vehicle to smash his way through the glass door.

In stunning footage that was played before Lord Glennie, people sitting in the court's public benches could see a glass door being smashed - and the frame being thrown several feet in the air.

The giant vehicle can then be seen skidding along the floor in the call centre's reception before Nicol aims it at a cash machine and hits the ATM.

He then reverses before propelling the tanker again for a second time - when repeated attempts fail, the pair then take turns to hit the cash machine with a sledge hammer before leaving the scene empty handed.

However, the court heard that the pair were arrested moments later after a high speed car chase through Lanarkshire. Police then found the sawn off shot gun and ammunition in their possession.

The court also heard that HSBC had to spend £197,298 to repair the damage caused in the raid.

The court heard that the owners of the sewage truck lost between £40 to £ 60,000 in business because of the theft of the sewage truck. It is estimated that it would cost £50,000 to replace the vehicle.

The story emerged after Nicol and Fowler, both prisoners of HMP Addiewell in West Lothian, pleaded guilty last month to theft, robbery and firearms charges.

Sentence had been deferred to Friday so that the court could obtain reports about their characters.

On Friday, Lord Glennie sentenced Nicol to five and a half years in prison - Fowler received a five year stretch.

Passing sentence, Lord Glennie branded the botched robbery "bizarre."

He added: "You have both pleaded guilty to a bizarre attempt to rob money from a cash machine.

"The only saving grace in this case is that the crime was carried out in such an incompetent fashion.

"Offences of this nature require the imposition of significant periods of custody. You will both go to prison."

Last month prosecution lawyer Shanti Maguire told the court that the pair stole the lorry from the premises of a company called DPG Plus in East Kilbride at approximately 11.54pm on October 29.

The advocate depute told Lord Glennie that the pair then drove to HSBC's offices in Blantyre.

Ms McGuire added that security guards Thomas McGowan and James Hunter were the only people who were working at the offices at the time of the attempted robbery.

She added: "At approximately 1.45am on Saturday October 20, the witness McGowan was monitoring the CCTV cameras in the control room whilst the witness Hunter was carrying out a routine patrol of the building.

"At this time the white waste tanker driven by the accused George Nicol entered the grounds of HSBC followed by his accomplice, the accused David Fowler who was driving a blue Skoda Octavia Estate bearing a false registration plate.

"The accused Nicol thereafter proceeded to ram the front entrance doorway of the premises with the tanker.

"After repeated attempts the vehicle breached the entrance and the accused Nicol proceeded to drive right into the premises and collide with an ATM cash machine.

"The witness McGown witnessed the events and immediately contacted witness Hunter on the radio to inform him that the premises had been breached. He thereafter contacted police and passed a description of the Skoda motor vehicle and its registration number. He also advised that both accused had their faces masked.

"CCTV cameras at the locus captured both accused making repeated attempts to gain access to the ATM by means of repeatedly striking it with the sewage lorry driven by the accused George Nicol.

"The accused Fowler is also seen with a sledgehammer and repeatedly strike the cash machine in an attempt to gain access.

"After several failed attempts to gain entry to the cash machine the accused George Nicol left the premises and sat in the driver seat of the blue Skoda Octavia Estate motor vehicle. After a short time the accused Fowler returned to the vehicle sitting in the front passenger seat. The accused Nicol thereafter drove off the getaway vehicle. "

The pair can then be seen on the CCTV footage speeding away.

Ms McGuire told the court that two police officers patrolling nearby saw the pair and started chasing them on Blantyre's Hillhouse Road.

Ms McGuire added: "Both officers noted there were two occupants in the vehicle and understood this to be the getaway car from information provided by witness McGowan and Hunter.

"A vehicle pursuit then took place for a distance which ended when the Skoda struck bollards and stopped suddenly. Due to the slippery surface, the police vehicle struck the rear of the Skoda motor vehicle.

"A pursuit of both the accused George Nicol and David Fowler then took place on foot. They were both apprehended after a short time.

"A full search of the vehicle was then carried out and all items recovered were recorded. During the search five shotgun cartridges, a sawn off shotgun, a quantity of tools, knives and a pair of number plates bearing the registration SM60 XOX were seized from the vehicle."

On Friday, Nicol's defence advocate Paul Nelson told the court that his client - who had owned a garage in Glasgow - had turned to crime because he had financial problems.

Mr Nelson added: "The video footage shows the inept nature of the crime. It is a demonstrable fact that the person who committed the crime is monumentally stupid or desperate.

"He is not stupid my lord. He was quite desperate. Prior to the crime he owned a garage business. He employed several people and made charitable donations."

Mr Nelson said that Nicol's garage ran into financial problems because he sold partly worn tyres. In 2011, Glasgow City Council changed local laws with regard to businesses who sold partly worn tyres. Mr Nelson said that Nicol didn't comply with the law changes and that police raided his premises.

Mr Nelson added: "The police came to his premises and seized £20,000 of stock. This placed him on a slippery slope. What happened with regard to his firm led him into entering into this enterprise."

Fowler's solicitor advocate John Keenan told the court that his client also had financial difficulties at the time of the robbery.

He added: "He had lost his job. At the time of the offence, he had learned his partner was pregnant and his was very worried about his ability to provide for their future.

"He fully appreciates that he is facing a lengthy custodial term. This has been brought into sharp focus by the fact that his partner is due to give birth in the next week and he won't be there to see the birth of his child or participate in its formative years.

"I would ask your lordship to take his guilty pleas into account and restrict his sentence."

Lord Glennie said the only sentence available to him was to impose custodial terms.