Shock as armed robber strikes at Nuneaton bank

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It came on the day when the bank was under enormous pressure as its online banking failed to register transactions



An armed robbery at a Nuneaton bank during lunchtime has left the community in shock.

The incident took place at Natwest in the Market Place at midday.

It came on the day when the bank was under enormous pressure as its online banking failed to register transactions - causing more people than normal to head to their local branch.

A spokesman for Warwickshire Police said: “Police were called to a bank on Market Place in Nuneaton shortly before midday today following a report of an armed robbery.

“A man is understood to have entered the bank and demanded money. A quantity of cash was handed over.

“A 55-year-old man from Nuneaton has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and currently remains in police custody.”

The bank was due to remain closed for the rest of the day, with customers being directed to the Hinckley branch.

A spokesman for Natwest said: "We can't comment on an ongoing investigation but obviously we will be supporting police."

Ashley Jake was in the George Eliot pub across the road from the bank when he heard what happened.

He said: “I was in the pub, and two guys came in and said they were in there when the bank was robbed.

“They said they were waiting to get some money and this guy just came in and snatched some money out of the drawer.”

Connor Lawson Shaw was particularly surprised to hear this happened in Nuneaton.

He said: “It’s quite scary knowing it’s happened here. I have never heard of anything like this happening in Nuneaton.

“I know shops have been robbed but it’s a bit different when it’s a bank. It means Nuneaton is getting worse. An armed robbery...I cannot believe this!”

Yusef Mohamed came back from Tenerife to use the bank , because he made a mistake putting in details using internet banking.

His jaw dropped when I told him there had been an armed robbery.

He said: “It’s very shocking, you don’t hear of that happening in the UK.

“I was on the phone and they said I needed to go into a branch, but my closest one in Bedworth has closed so they said to come here so we came back from Tenerife to get it sorted and we’ll go back next week.”

Jevan Williams has a pressing issue to sort out with the bank.

He claims hundreds of pounds have disappeared from his account. He said: “I have had £400 go missing from my account, so I have just come down to sort it out.

“It’s a lot of money, I’m only an apprentice and I’m trying to save for a house.

“It’s quite shocking to hear there has been an armed robbery, you don’t expect it to happen in your home town. Also, it’s not something you really hear about.

“It seems like bank robberies are something for the past, it’s quite scary but I guess you’ve just got to get on, there’s always bad people in the world.”

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Face of bungling robber who raided bank in broad daylight



A bungling robber has admitted targeting a Nuneaton bank on one of its busiest days of the year.

Stephen Cheshire strolled in to the NatWest branch in Market Place at midday and demanded cash from staff.

Although he was unarmed, he still managed to escape with an undisclosed amount of cash.

However, he didn’t get far and was arrested the very same day.

Cheshire, 55, of Tudor Road, Nuneaton, appeared at Warwick Crown Court today for a plea and trial preparation hearing where he entered his guilty plea to a charge of robbery.

He will now be sentenced in the week commencing September 11 and has been given bail until that hearing.

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Drunk robber who threatened to "blow cashier's head off" jailed

A drunk robber who threatened to blow a Nuneaton bank cashier’s head off has been jailed for three years.

Stephen Cheshire went into the NatWest bank in Nuneaton town centre unarmed, but put his finger in his camouflaged coat pocket to make it look like he had a gun.

He fled with just £140 but justice was swift and the 55-year-old was arrested later the same day at a nearby betting shop.

The robbery at 11.50am on April 28 this year was witnessed by a large number of customers as it came on the day when NatWest’s online banking system crashed - causing more people than normal to use the branch.

Cheshire, of Tudor Road, Nuneaton, pleaded guilty to a charge of robbery last month at Warwick Crown Court and was sentenced today at the same court.

Prosecutor Richard Franck said: “He walked straight to the front of the queue with his left hand out of his jacket and his right hand in his jacket pocket.

“He pointed to his hand and says to the cashier ‘I will blow your f****** head off’ while demanding money.

“The cashier opens the cash drawer and handed £140 in cash to him.”

Once arrested, Cheshire answered no comment to all questions before telling officers that he couldn’t remember anything about what happened due to his issues with alcohol.

In a victim impact statement given to the court, the cashier said Cheshire “threatened my personal safety” and did not know if Cheshire would “seriously injure me or kill me, or others in the bank”.

Passing sentence, Recorder Alistair Smith told Cheshire: “You walked into NatWest wearing a camouflaged jacket, ignoring the queue.

“You went to the nearest cashier while keeping your hand in your pocket and pointed it towards the cashier and demanded money.

“You were clearly drunk even though it did little to diminish the risk you posed - the cashier believed you were carrying a firearm.

“You repeated your threat and the cashier did as your ordered and gave you money from the cash drawer.”

The judge said Cheshire was arrested at the Coral bookies in Abbey Road.

He added that Cheshire had a “poor criminal record” including 48 convictions for 87 offences, mostly low-level offences such as shoplifting, and being drunk and disorderly.

He also noted Cheshire’s current mental state and also noted he suffered from depression and alcohol dependency.

But the judge told Cheshire: “This was a serious offence and genuine attempt to get money whilst using a threat of force.

“Banks are a necessary public service and staff must be protected from threats of violence.”