 In 1971, along with 3 others (William "Bill" McPherson, Colin Lawson and Ian Doran), Lygate robbed two banks, netting the party £14,000.However, McPherson and Doran committed two more robberies on their own; it was then that a shotgun was fired and gave police a lead, eventually leading to the arrest of the four.Lygate appeared at the High Court in Glasgow, with the trial lasting eleven days.