A ROBBER threatened to blow a bank cashier’s head off if she did not hand over money, a court heard.

Chelmsford Crown Court was also told raider Matthew Clark tried to get money from two shops in Dovercourt, but staff refused.

Police later arrested him, and found most of the cash from the bank raid at his home and yesterday he was jailed for three-and-a-half years.

Clark, 34, went into Nat West’s Dovercourt High Street branch on January 26 and pretended to fill in in a paying-in slip.

He handed the slip to a cashier, Chelmsford Crown Court heard, and she read the words: “Give us the money. We’ve got guns. Give us money out of the till or we’ll blow your head off.”

Stephen Rose, prosecuting, said she handed over just under £500. Earlier the same day, Clark threatened staff in Boreham Christopher jewellers in Dovercourt High Street, and That’s the Spirit, in Kingsway, but they refused to hand over cash.

Clark, of Currents Lane, Harwich, admitted robbery and asked for two similar counts to be taken into consideration. Clark had previous convictions for robbery and served five-and-a-half years for raiding a Bognor Regis building society with a toy gun.

His lawyer, Francis O’Toole, said Clark had financial worries at the time and was drinking heavily. His client regretted what he had done and wanted to apologise.