A MASKED bank robber who held-up a Poole bank manager at gunpoint and sparked a four-hour manhunt has been jailed for three and a half years.

Louis Warwick threatened another female member of staff at the HSBC in Broadstone before pointing a fake handgun at an off-duty police officer.

Unaware that the weapon was an imitation, former Royal Marine Fraser Syme gave chase, following Warwick to his getaway car. But the red Audi was locked, so Mr Syme, now a police constable jotted down the vehicle’s registration number.

Armed police then surrounded a house in Commericial Road, Poole, closing the civic centre roundabout for several hours while they tried to apprehend him. 

Bournemouth Crown Court was told he gave himself up the next day after the BB gun, his balaclava, and other items of clothing were found at a flat in the property. None of the stolen cash was recovered.

 

He told the court he had been "forced into" the robbery after drug dealers he owed money threatened to kill his son if he didn't pay up.

Prosecuting, Anita Gibson-Lee said Warwick, 26, of no fixed abode, had been wearing a balaclava and grey hoodie when he entered the Blandford Road bank at around 9.40 am on April 4 this year.

“Only his eyes were showing and he had a black handgun. He was wearing gloves and carrying a shopping bag. He pointed the gun at the manager and said: ‘This is a raid.’”

Four shocked customers watched as Warwick pointed the gun at a sobbing bank worker, pushing her towards the counter and shouting “hurry up.”

Warwick said he needed £40,000 and told the terrified cashiers they had 20 seconds. They filled the carrier bag with £8,370 and Warwick fled.

Ms Gibson-Lee said PC Syme had been suspicious after spotting Warwick going into the bank and waited outside.

Two young women also tried to stop Warwick in his tracks.

In a statement the manager said: “The whole incident has really shaken me up; I was scared but also focused on doing the right thing. Now that it’s over I feel that I’m in shock and physically sick.”

Defending, Nick Robinson described the raid as “unsophisticated,” adding: “He made a makeshift disguise and discarded his belongings. No attempt was made to evade capture and the vehicle was registered in his name.”

Mr Robinson said the father-of-one had needed money to pay a drug debt and reached “tipping point” after his family had been threatened.

Sentencing Warwick, who pleaded guilty to robbery and possessing an imitation firearm with intent, Judge Samuel Wiggs said: “I accept you were under pressure.” He added that Warwick’s very early guilty pleas meant he could also impose “a very lenient sentence.”

In a letter of apology, read to the court, Louis Warwick said: “What I did that day was out of order. I was forced to do it – for my family.

“I’m not a criminal; I’m a desperate father and family man, trying to escape my past.

“I intend to pay it back; if it takes me a year or 10 years. I was addicted to crack and tried to take my own life.

“I was working for the council to better my life and support my family but the people I owed money to said they would stab my son. I’m extremely sorry; my deepest apologies.”

(Note: this story was first posted on Saturday, but has been updated to include extra detail and a photo of Warwick)