A man who tried to rob a building society while dressed as a wealthy wheelchair-bound woman has been jailed for this and another attempted robbery.

43-year-old Thomas Clark with addresses at Keeper Road, Crumlin and Chaplains Place, Clondalkin arrived at the building society unshaven and wearing a poor quality black wig.

He was being pushed in the wheelchair by his 21-year-old accomplice Martin Collins of Neilstown Gardens, Clondalkin.

Collins had previously made an appointment with the manager of the Permanent TSB branch on Lower Kilmadcud Road in Stillorgan in October 2010 on the pretence that a woman he was caring for had been awarded €2.9 million by the State and wanted to invest it.

Detective Sergeant Peter Woods told the court the manager of the building society noticed that the ‘older woman’ was wearing what was obviously a black wig when Collins pushed her into his office.

Collins left the wheelchair facing the door which manager Michael Doyle thought was strange.

Clark then got out of the wheelchair and produced what Mr. Doyle thought was a shotgun.

It was then that he noticed that it was a man dressed as a woman and described his face as being round and unshaven.

Doyle then realised the weapon he had in his hand was actually an imitation firearm.

Collins then produced a similar weapon but this was a hatchet made to look like a gun.

Collins then struck Mr Doyle on the back of the leg causing him to bleed before the robbers ran from the building society empty-handed to a waiting car and sped off towards Blackrock.

Gardaí arrested them a short time later.

Clark also pleaded guilty to the attempted robbery of the EBS in Leixlip the following day.

The court heard that while running to escape from pursuing Gardaí he jumped into the River Liffey and tried to swim across it.

Judge Martin Nolan sentenced Clark to consecutive prison terms totalling 6 years but suspended the final 2 on strict conditions.

He accepted that Clark is ‘to some degree institutionalised and has not had the best start in life’.

Last February Judge Nolan jailed Collins for 3 years for his role in the crime.

The court heard that Collins has 55 previous convictions while Clark has 33.