AN ex-serviceman carried out a bank robbery “armed” with a plastic knife stolen from a discount store minutes earlier.

Hugh Lawson Gallon, who appeared in court earlier that day, approached a counter at Lloyds TSB’s town centre branch in Peterlee, County Durham, at 12.25pm on March 7.

Durham Crown Court heard he told the female assistant: “I’m robbing you.”

When she questioned what he had said, he repeated it, and, seeing that a nearby customer service manager was aware of what was taking place, he added: “Don’t move your hands, or I’ll slit your throat.”

Mark Styles, prosecuting, told the court: “The assistant said at that point it didn’t seem to register what was going on, but she looked down and could see him resting his hand on one side, revealing what appeared to be the blade of a silver knife.”

She took money from the till and handed it to Gallon, who told her not to bother with coins.

He grabbed the wad of £890 in notes and fled the premises, disposing of his distinctive striped jumper, woollen hat and the plastic knife.

Mr Styles said all were subsequently recovered from an alcove in a town centre walkway.

Shaken bank staff pressed a panic button and police apprehended Gallon, who was “clearly under the influence of alcohol”, at a nearby bus stop ten minutes later.

Mr Styles said the stolen money was found in his trouser pocket and he was arrested, subsequently being picked out on an identity parade.

When interviewed he denied the offences and became argumentative, complaining about the conditions in which he was detained.

Mr Styles said the ordeal had “a great impact” on the bank assistant, who now feels nervous at work.

It emerged that having been given a conditional discharge by Peterlee magistrates for shoplifting, for which he was arrested in Durham city centre the previous day, Gallon left court, drank a bottle of vodka and then stole the knife from a discount store, having failed to take money from a nearby bargain shop.

The 41-year-old ex-soldier, of no fixed abode, admitted robbery, theft and attempted theft.

His previous offending includes two robbery convictions and numerous cases of shoplifting,

Kieran Rainey, mitigating, said, having served in Northern Ireland towards the end of the “troubles”, Gallon was medically discharged, probably suffering some form of mental health condition, which led him in to sporadic bouts of heavy drinking, followed by offending.

Jailing him, Judge Robin Mairs told Gallon despite only being “armed” with a plastic knife, the bank staff, “clearly took him seriously”.

He imposed a five-year prison sentence, but as he considers Gallon as potentially “dangerous”, posing a risk of further offending, Judge Mairs added a two-year extended licence period.