New London, Connecticut ne'er-do-well Jerome Taylor thought his iPhone to be a suitable facsimile for a handgun in his failed attempt to hold up a local restaurant.

Not that the restaurant staff weren't fooled, but they make cooks tough in Connecticut, and rather than meekly handing over the cash, they grabbed knives and stood off, causing Mr Taylor to rethink his strategy, apologise, and run off - only to be picked up a couple of hours later as local rag theday.com reports.

When police caught up with him, they discovered the supposed handgun was actually an iPhone, and that Jerome Taylor wasn't a very good thief - in fact he was such a poor thief that the restaurant staff didn't want to press charges given the time of year. But it turns out that trying to rob someone at gunpoint is still a crime, even if you don't have a gun and are in America.

The iPhone has been credited with being able to do just about anything - from healing warts to forging bus tickets, but it seems that daylight robbery is beyond even Apple's ability, despite the prices they're able to charge for their kit. ®