Robber hid in roof and waited for bank to open
AKNIFE-WIELDING robber hid in the roof of a bank then jumped out and threatened terrified staff into handing over thousands of pounds. Craig Gresty, 34, ‘concealed’ himself in the ceiling after smashing through a roof before pouncing when three staff arrived to open the Vernon Building Society in Hazel Grove.
He held the manager hostage at knifepoint and made her empty the contents of the safe before making his escape, a court heard. However the bungling robber was caught as he was photographed getting into a bright red car registered to his partner as he tried to get away.
The drama unfolded when two female staff members at the building society arrived early in the morning and noticed a ceiling tile was missing, Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court was told.
A short time later when the manager arrived, Gresty, who was wearing a balaclava, jumped down through the space where the tile was missing.
AKNIFE-WIELDING robber hid in the roof of a bank then jumped out and threatened terrified staff into handing over thousands of pounds.
Craig Gresty, 34, ‘smashed’ his way through the roof and then ‘concealed’ himself in the ceiling before pouncing when three female staff arrived to open the Vernon Building Society in Hazel Grove.
He held the manager hostage at knifepoint and made her empty the contents of the safe before making his escape, a court heard.
However the bungling robber was caught as he was photographed getting into a bright red car registered to his partner as he tried to get away.
The drama unfolded when two female staff members at the building society arrived early in the morning and noticed a ceiling tile was missing, Manchester Minshull Street Crown was told.
A short time later when the manager arrived, Gresty, who was wearing a balaclava, jumped down through the space where the tile was missing and demanded the “open the f **** g safe!”
Two of the staff managed to run out but the door shut behind them and the manager was trapped inside.
Gresty was holding a teninch knife and held the blade “two or three inches from her face” as he demanded she help him get access to the safe saying she was “taking too long.”
The woman, who resorted to cowering under a chair for protection, said she had “never been as frightened as she was in those moments” Hugh Edwards, prosecuting, said and she genuinely feared he may kill her.
She eventually managed to open the safe and Gresty stuffed £8,000 into a canvas bag before fleeing.
However, during this time, one of the other staff members went into another neighbouring bank to raise the alarm and, seeing a man approaching a red car, the woman took photographs of him and the Fiat 500, which she showed to officers when they arrived.
It was reported at the time that armed police were deployed to the scene on London Road in the bustling heart of Hazel Grove as part of the manhunt.
The car was quickly traced to a woman who turned out to be Gresty’s partner and when officers went round to her home in Heaviley, they found Gresty there and arrested him, around an hour after the robbery.
He had only had around £600 in cash on him and its not known what happened to the rest of the stolen money.
Gresty, of Brierlow Bar, Buxton, in Derbyshire, pleaded guilty to robbery, possession of a bladed article and criminal damage at an earlier hearing.
He has a long list of previous convictions and has already served long prison terms for robbery.
The manager was so traumatised she has had to move branches and is no longer able to open and lock the premises because of her ongoing fear.
Chudi Grant, defending, said Gresty had battled drug addiction as a young man and that after being released from his latest prison term in January last year, he developed a gambling habit.
He says he borrowed a substantial amount of money from his parents, all of which he gambled away.
He said: “His demons caught up with him and he developed a gambling problem. That was the start of his downfall.
“He was at a particularly low ebb and resorted back to what he knew.
“There was an element of planning but this was not sophisticated.”
He was sentenced to 10 years behind bars with Judge Angela Nield ruling he was a “dangerous” offender and an extended sentence was needed to protect the public.
Passing sentence she said: “The impact on each and everyone one of these staff who fell victim to your offending has been profound.”