Writer tried to hold up bank with banana

The author of a book called The Man Who Robbed A Bank With A Banana demanded money from cashiers while holding a banana concealed to look like a gun, a court has heard.

Christopher North, 51, was wearing a balaclava and pointed the piece of fruit wrapped in a cloth at bank staff in Middlesbrough in January, Teesside Crown Court heard.

A judge said if it were not for his mental illness, North, whose previous convictions included making a bomb threat, could have been jailed for up to eight years.

But as he had engaged with treatment and medication while on remand, he was given a suspended sentence. He was originally charged with attempted robbery but admitted being a public nuisance.

North, from Middlesbrough, went into a town centre bank shortly after 10:00 GMT on 7 January when the store was busy with customers, including families with children, prosecutor Elisha Marsay said.

He pulled an item wrapped in a white cloth from his pocket and pointed it at cashiers while saying "I'm robbing the bank, I'm robbing the bank, give me the cash", the court heard.

Some people shouted "it's a gun", while others were able to see what the item really was, the court heard.

Two customers immediately ushered North out of the bank, the court heard.

At his home, police found his laptop which contained a plan of the robbery, three bananas and five copies of a book he had written called The Man Who Robbed a Bank With A Banana, Marsay said.

He had 10 offences on his criminal record, including a bomb hoax for which he got a suspended sentence in 2013, the court heard.

The court heard he had a "long history of mental illness" but had engaged with treatment and medication while being held on remand since January.

Judge Jonathan Carroll said it was "on any view an exceptional and unusual case".

He said while the banana itself was harmless, disguising it to look like a weapon was "more than capable of causing psychological harm", with some people in the bank being "deeply frightened".

"But for your mental illness, you would be looking at a sentence of seven or eight years now," the judge told North.

He said North had made "significant advances and improvements" while engaging with treatment in prison, the "big test" would be if he could keep it going when released.

"It's obviously better for everybody in society for you to be mentally well but it's in your interests to stay mentally well," the judge said, adding the risk he posed was better managed the sooner he was engaging with probation services.

North was jailed for two and half years, suspended for three years.

The judge said he would also look to make an order banning North from entering the area's banks for 10 years.

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