A PUB landlord who entrusted two teenage girls with his weekend takings lived to regret the decision – when they pocketed some cash of the cash on their way to the bank. Robert Mulholland of the Muppet Inn, Wisbech, admits he was a muppet himself for ha

A PUB landlord who entrusted two teenage girls with his weekend takings lived to regret the decision - when they pocketed some cash of the cash on their way to the bank.

Robert Mulholland of the Muppet Inn, Wisbech, admits he was "a muppet himself" for handing over �1,400 to 18-year-old Kelly-Ann Thomas and 19-year-old Kerri Sammon, asking them to put the cash into a bank deposit box.

"I will change my middle name to Kermit," he joked after attending the girls' court case today.

But, he added: "I don't just hand money to anybody." He had known the girls for three years, and sometimes had difficulty in leaving his pub to bank cash.

"I was mostly annoyed because I had given them a chance to hand the money back before it went to court," he added. "They took my dog to the bank with them, but they did return that."

Mr Mulholland named his pub The Muppet Inn when he took over the former Market Place Inn, as "a bit of reverse psychology" after discovering that locals were already giving it that name.

Giles Beaumont, prosecuting, said the girls were regulars and Mr Holland asked them to deposit the cash in the bank on their way to the Post Office. En route they took �150.

"They told police how they sat on a park bench and mulled it over, before deciding to open the envelope," said Mr Beaumont.

Oliver Bennett, mitigating, said the teenagers did not know Mr Mulholland well and were not sure why he asked them.

"The money burned a hole in their pocket; they spent it on food and cigarettes to get rid of it," she said.

The teenagers, who share a flat in Churchfield Road, Outwell, were both ordered to carry out 40 hours of unpaid work and return the �150.