A MAN who robbed a bank in North Yorkshire and threatened staff with a 'shoot to kill' note has been jailed for nearly four years – less than a month after the robbery took place.

On April 6, a man wearing a black beanie hat and a black scarf round his mouth passed a note to staff reading ‘shoot to kill’ and ‘put £5,000 in the bag’ at the Co-operative Bank in Prospect Crescent, Harrogate. The man kept one hand behind his back, inside the back of his trousers, suggesting he had a gun. He made off with thousands of pounds in cash.

An investigation began immediately, and CCTV enquiries quickly identified a suspect. The very next day, 60-year-old Terence Stott was arrested in connection with the offence. He was charged with robbery.

Stott appeared at York Crown Court on April 30, where he pleaded guilty to the offence. He was sentenced to 44 months in prison for the robbery, and a further two months to run consecutively for breaching a suspended sentence – a total of 46 months.

The officer leading the investigation, DC Nicky Wareham of Harrogate CID, said: “I would like to praise the staff at the bank for their handling of what I’m sure was a terrifying incident. Immediate actions taken by the police officers who attended the incident on the day led to Stott quickly being identified as the offender.

“The public should be reassured that this type of offence is extremely rare in the Harrogate area, and we continue to live in one of the safest parts of the country.”