A man robbed a VLT machine in Halifax last night, but barely made it half a block before being caught, Halifax police said.

The man was in a bar at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 5600 block of Spring Garden Road as staff emptied a VLT machine. Police say the man "used violence" to knock over staff and grab the money. He ran out of the bar.

When police arrived, they found two staff members had pinned the man they suspected of stealing to the ground. The staff members caught the man on nearby Brenton Street.

Officers arrested the 23-year-old Lakeland, N.S., man, and he's due in Halifax Provincial Court Wednesday to face a robbery charge.