COVENTRY MESSAGE BOARD

Armed police cordoned off a large section of Bedworth town centre this afternoon



A man who walked into a bank with two grenades has been arrested after it was reported that he threatened staff.

Armed police descended on Bedworth town centre as the dramatic scenes unfolded at the Barclays Bank at around 1.30pm on Thursday afternoon.

The bank in All Saints Square and a number of nearby businesses and buildings, including Bedworth Civic Hall, were evacuated, and a large area of the town centre was cordoned off.

The 53-year-old suspect was eventually led from the bank by officers around an hour later. He has been arrested on suspicion of robbery and is currently in custody.

Warwickshire Police say that a thorough search of the building was carried out and two devices, believed to be deactivated smoke grenades, have been recovered from the scene.

Det Insp Andy Reynolds said: “We would like to thank the public for their patience as we dealt with this incident.

“All incidents like this are treated very seriously and we deploy the necessary resources to deal with them. Fortunately this incident was not as serious as first thought and was resolved successfully.”

Judge blasts man who walked into bank with grenades

A depressed man who walked into a bank with what appeared to be two grenades told police he did it because he had lost his job and wanted to be shot.

Mark Gallemore, of Marston Lane, Bedworth, walked into Barclays in All Saints Square in the town at lunchtime on April 26 and told the cashier to get out.

She thought he was joking - but when she spotted the grenades she told a colleague to press the panic alarm,

Gallemore then told staff to leave before calmly lighting a cigarette.

When other customers tried to get in he showed them the canisters - which were deactivated smoke grenades with the word smoke taped over.

Police arrived and tried to speak to Gallemore but they said he seemed unresponsive and “fixated” on the grenades.

Eventually he walked out empty-handed, leaving the grenades on the counter, and told officers he wanted them to shoot him.

When he was interviewed the 53-year-old said that both he and his partner had lost their jobs, and he had wanted to end his life.

At Warwick Crown Court, Gallemore, who had previously pleaded guilty to communicating false information about a bomb and had spent four months on remand, was sentenced to 18 months in jail suspended for two years, with a 30-day rehabilitation activity.