A pensioner who planted a fake bomb inside a bank and threatened to detonate it unless he was given cash has been jailed for more than three years.
Reginald Esqulant, 74, sparked a major police operation in Sevenoaks when he entered a High Street Santander branch with a package and left it in the middle of the bank.
Instructions were left on the item that said it would be exploded unless cash was left in an area nearby while he also demanded police not to be informed and customers to stay put.
Large swathes of the town centre were placed on lockdown as bomb disposal experts carried out a controlled explosion of the package which was later revealed to be a paving slab.
Esqulant was arrested at his home in West Kingsdown the next day after a VW Golf he used to travel to the bank was identified by detectives.
The car belonged to an associate who allowed Esqulant to use the car but had no knowledge of the planned raid.
A search of the vehicle uncovered a pair of plastic gloves which Esqulant wore in the bank while handwriting found inside the home matched the demand note.
A broken portion of paving slab at the address also matched analysis of the exploded package.
Esqulant appeared at Maidstone Crown Court where he pleaded not guilty to blackmail but admitted a separate charge of causing a bomb hoax.
Jurors found him guilty of blackmail as well as taking a motor vehicle without consent and driving while disqualified.
He was sentenced at the same court on Friday for three years and four months.
Detective Sergeant Jon Faulkner, the senior investigating officer for this case, said: “Esqulant is now rightly serving a substantial prison sentence.
“He had planned to cause maximum fear in order to try and steal a large amount of money, but in doing so left a trail of evidence which meant we were quickly able to identify and arrest him.
“His actions inevitably resulted in significant concerns, anxiety and considerable disruptions to the local communities as roads were closed off and crime scenes cordoned off.
“Local businesses also suffered as a result of loss of trade.”
