Pensioner who wrote bizarre note threatening to blow up bank convicted of blackmail

The 'bomb' later turned out to be a broken paving slab wrapped in a hessian sack

The remnants of the 'bomb' after police carried out a controlled explosion in the Santander (Kent Police)

A pensioner who sparked a bomb scare with a handwritten note threatening to blow up a bank has been found guilty of blackmail.

Reginald Esqulant walked into a branch of Santander in Sevenoaks, Kent, and handed over the note to staff in February this year.

It ordered staff not to raise the alarm and to put notes in a black bag to be carried out to the alley behind the doorway.

Otherwise any “harm to staff or members of the public would be their responsibility”.

But as the 73-year-old left to go to the pick-up point, staff managed to call the police and officers sealed off the town centre.

Bomb disposal experts then carried out a controlled explosion on the package that the pensioner had left behind claiming it was an explosive.

It was later revealed to be a broken paving slab wrapped in a hessian sack and placed inside a cardboard box.

Esqulant's handwritten note to bank staff (Kent Police)

Esqulant was arrested at his home in nearby West Kingsdown after the VW Golf he used to travel to and from the crime scene was identified by police.

He had borrowed it from a friend who had no idea what he planned to use it for.

A search of the car found the plastic gloves he had worn in the bank and handwriting found during a raid of his home matched the writing on the note.

A broken portion of a paving slab was also found outside his house which matched the slab found inside the fake bomb.

Esqulant denied blackmail, taking a motor vehicle without consent and driving while disqualified but was found guilty at Maidstone Crown Court on Wednesday.

His sentencing has been scheduled for November.

The fake 'device' left behind in the bank (Kent Police)

Detective Sergeant Jon Faulkner from Kent Police said: “Esqulant’s actions not only caused extreme distress and fear to staff at the bank, but they also brought the centre of Sevenoaks to a standstill, leading to widespread disruption for residents and loss of trade for local business.

“The construction of a hoax device showed Esqulant had planned to cause maximum fear in order to try and steal a large amount of money.

“Thankfully the vigilance of the bank employees prevented him from doing so and helped us quickly track him down.”