The Bedford Heist

by Frederick Linden-Wyatt

  On leaving the bank the three robbers split up and slowly made their way down the High street and crossed in to Silver street and then along the Midland road to reach the station. The next train from Bedford to Kempston Hardwick would leave at 11.55am arriving at 12.14pm.

  Chapter 57. Barclays Bank 111 High Street, Bedford

  The team to hit the Barclays bank was made up of James Burley, Ken Shoemaker and Glen Toogood. The Barclays bank sits in a corner position facing the busy high street. The bank has automated glass doors and we will need to be incredibly careful when placing the “Do Not Enter before noon” A4 laminated sheets. Thankfully, the automated glass doors are set back about three feet from the main two wooden doors, so the team only had to close one of these door s and place the “Do Not Enter before noon” sign on it.

  The B team arrived as planned and closed one of the doors at 10.45 but there were only two tellers working their tills which had caused a line to form who were all waiting to be served. At 10.55 a smart looking man arrived at the door holding a Costa coffee in his hand and was shocked to see the sign stating that the bank would be closed until noon. James pointed out the sign to the man and expected him to walk away as others had done. However, the man holding his coffee said I am the manager, and everything was fine 20 minutes ago. The manager started to enter the bank and James followed him in and pointed his gun into the man’s ribs and told him that his bank was about to be robbed and he would have to casually turn around and wait with us for a few minutes.

  Thankfully, the manager complied and watched a few more customers leave the store. I know he wanted to try and call out to anyone but with every client that exited the bank I dug the barrel of my gun into his ribs. At 10.59 Ken and Glen took over control of the manager and stepped into the bank. James was seconds behind them after fixing the “Police – Do Not Cross” tape across the entrance closing both wooden doors behind him. Ken walked the manager to the first teller window and informed the young lady that this is a robbery and to stand back from her till and tell the other teller to do the same. When they complied, Ken took the manager to the security door which led to the back of the bank and told him to enter his code and proceed. James joined Ken and was not surprised to see that there were many rooms and offices in use. James decided that the room at the back would be best to store all the bodies in and both of the robbers with the assistance of the manager started to round up all the Barclay staff and placed them in the rear room.

  Ken kept guard on the staff and James took the manager to the room that held the safe and told him to open it. The manager did not hesitate and was told to place the money in the suitcase as well as the foreign currency. James then asked the manager for the keys for the ATM’’s which he provided. James wasn’t worried about the extent that the manager was helping them but James had notice that the second teller had given the manager a nod which was their signal to make the manager aware that she had activated the silent alarm. This did not worry James as he knew that the other five banks would also be activating their silent alarms and that the police would think that there was a fault on the system. James returned the manager to the rear office where he could join his staff and the two tellers from the front. Once they were all gathered a bin was passed around collecting all their mobile phones. The manager and his assistant were told to disconnect any form of communication in the room which includes any computers, fax machines or phones. They were told that this was especially important and would be told how important it was before they left.

  James then handed Glen the keys to the ATM’s and told him to be quick as possible. When Glen returned with his suitcase full, he produced the dummy timer bomb from his suitcase and placed it on top of a filling cabinet so everyone could see that the countdown clock which was currently showing 60 minutes. James explained to the bank staff that they should not move until the countdown clock is showing 00:00. This small count-down box contains an explosive which will kill everyone in this room. He explained to the bank staff about the three trigger settings. Before leaving he asked again, is there any mobile phones, tablets or iPads that has not yet been handed in and three staff members held up their phones which were placed outside the room. On leaving the bank the three robbers split up and slowly made their way down the high street and then along the Midland road to reach the railway station in time to catch the 11.55 train to Kempston Hardwick.

  Chapter 58. HSBC Bank, Bedford

  The third teams’ target is the HSBC which is also called the Household Bank which is situated close to the main police station but isn’t in direct view. The three-party guest who will be celebrating at my party are Barry Swift, Pete Griffith’s and William Bennett (Bill). The big problem with this bank is that it’s a modern complex and has floor to ceiling windows which nosy members of the public can easily see what is happening inside the bank. The entrance was easy to manage as it was a single door and we could easily manage to show the two Do Not Enter before noon A4 laminated sheets which will be replaced with the police crime scene tape once the team had entered the bank.

  As these three guests were in the public view, they needed to look smart so that they could pass off as a detective. All three had to visit the charity shops to pick out a suit as they never wore a suit in their normal life. As with all the other targets timing was essential and at 10:59 Pete Griffith’s and William Bennett entered the bank followed a second later by Barry Swift. Pete went to the first teller/cashier window and pointed the gun to her and told her to stand back from the till and to tell the other tellers to do the same. Bill Bennett then instructed the first teller to open the door to the rear of the bank. Once in the rear Bill and Barry soon spotted the manager’s office and Bill headed straight there. Barry’s job was to get all the other staff to congregate in a small office at the rear. A bin was passed around and staff were told to place their mobile phones in the bin but not to worry as they would be left outside the door. He also told them to disconnect all phones, fax and internet connections in the room. Whilst all this was happening Pete was busy at the front instructing all the three tellers to fill his suitcase up with goodies. After he was sure that they had tipped everything in they were marched to the smaller office at the back.

  Bill had asked the manager to open the safe but he hesitated and tried the old time lock excuse so bill pointed the gun to his head and although the manager had pissed his pants he told him this would be his last chance. He soon had a change of heart. Once the safe was open the manager was told to fill the suitcase with notes and foreign currency of which they had a large amount of Euro’s, which was probably due to the high level of Italians that remained in the town. Once that was done, he called for Barry to join him and he asked the manager for the key to unlock the ATM machine and handed it to Barry. The ATM had just been filled up to replace the money that had been withdrawn over the bank holiday weekend, so it looked a tidy sum.

  When all three-guest returned to the back-room Pete produced the dummy timer bomb from his suitcase and placed it on top of a book case so everyone could see that the countdown clock which was currently showing 60 minutes on the clock. Doug explained to the bank staff that they shouldn’t move until the countdown clock is showing 00:00. This small count-down box contains an explosive which will kill everyone in this room. The device has three trigger settings, No.1 will detect any loud noise – so no shouting. No 2 will detect any signal sent from any computer or phone and No. 3 checks the room pressure – so once we have left and started the countdown clock don’t open any windows or doors or you will kill everyone in this room. Before leaving I’ll ask again, is there any mobile phone that hasn’t yet been handed in and two staff members held up their phones which were placed outside the room. On leaving the bank the three robbers split up and slowly made their way down Allhallows and then along the Midland road to reach the railway station and wait for the 11.55 train to Kempston Hardwick.

  Chapter 59. Lloyds Bank 34 High Street, Bedford

  The te
am to hit the Lloyds bank was made up of James Smith, Timmy Willis and Steve Marshal. Like all teams they had arrived outside the bank at 10.45 and attached the two Do Not Enter before noon A4 laminated sheets to the outside of the wooden door. The outer door lead to an inner door which was made of full-length glass but thankfully the windows of the bank were higher up and frosted glass at the bottom. This would limit the visibility of our actions from outside. There were a few customers inside the bank, and they were slow to clear. One lady did approach the bank and having read the ‘Do Not Enter’ message considered that it must refer to everybody else and not her as she tried to barge pass Geoff who told her that there was a que which she could join if she wished but he made it clear that there would be no que jumping. She said a few words in German that he could not understand, and she wandered off down the high street mumbling to herself.

  At 10.59 James and Steve entered the bank and Geoff followed after fixing the “Police – Do Not Cross” tape across the entrance closing both wooden doors behind him. There was still an old lady being attended to at the second teller window but we couldn’t wait for her to leave and exactly at 11.00 am James pointed his gun towards the first teller and told her to stand back and tell the other teller to do the same. James then told the first teller to unlock the inner door and Geoff pointed his gun to the old lady who tried to scream but only got half of it out before she fainted and crumbled out cold on to the floor.

  Both Geoff and Steve picked up the old lady and carried her into the rear of the bank. They laid her down and started to gather up the manager and all other staff checking every room and the toilets to make sure no one was hiding. James had to keep an eye on the tellers as well as keeping an eye open for what was happening in the rear of the bank. James then instructed the tellers to place all notes and £2 coins in the suitcase, but they said that they didn’t have a key to the lower draw that held even more notes. James knew that the tellers also had the key for the draw and he pointed his gun to the brow of the first young teller who apart from wetting herself produced a key and completed the task.

  The second teller follow suit but thankfully didn’t pee herself. Once they had done their part they were led to join the fellow workmates but the first teller begged to be allowed to go to the toilet to clean herself up but was refused permission. With everyone rounded up the manager was taken to the safe and he opened it without a fuss and loaded all the money both GBP and other currencies into the suitcase. He was then asked for the ATM key and was returned to the storeroom to join the others. I passed the keys to Steve and he knew that they were for the ATM and left to grab his goodies.

  Meanwhile a bin was passed around those in the storeroom and everyone was asked to put their mobile phones and any electronic equipment into the bin and were told that they would be left outside the room for collection later. Steve returned pulling his filled suitcase behind him and Geoff then produced the dummy timer bomb from his suitcase and placed it on top of a table so everyone could see that the countdown clock which was currently showing 60 minutes. Geoff explained to the bank staff that they shouldn’t[FL1] move until the countdown clock is showing 00:00. He also explained about the three trigger types. Before leaving he asked again, is there any mobile phones, tablet or iPads that hasn’t yet been handed in and one staff member held up his mobile phone which were placed outside the room along with rest.

  Just about as we were going to leave a young lady whose name on her badge was Shirley, asked permission to check on the old lady. We agreed but told her to hurry up. She said that she had been trained by the company as the bank always had to have a medically trained person working at the bank. After running a few checks and feeling her pulse she said that the old lady hadn’t fainted but had had a stroke and needed urgent medical attention or she would die. Geoff instructed his colleagues to carry the old lady out to the front of the bank and place her just inside the main door and then come back for their suitcases. The team would move her to the outside just as they left. Geoff set the countdown clock on the dummy timer bomb and then called for an ambulance saying that an old lady was outside the Lloyds bank in the High street, but she had had a heart attack. The operator asked for more information, but Geoff told her that he was just a passer-by and didn’t want to get involved. I informed the others that we had called for an ambulance, but they were not to move until the countdown clock showed zero. I then set the clock and we made our way to the railway station and wait for the 11.55 train to Kempston Hardwick.

  Chapter 60. Royal Bank of Scotland

  The fifth group of robbers paid a visit to the Royal bank of Scotland branch which is situated in Mill Street. The three guests will be Jacob Henningsson, Rees Jones and Lenny Adams. I was really looking forward to the boys paying a visit to the RBS as this one bank has pissed me off more than any other. They used to have a branch in the small town I lived in, but they closed the branch down making a good friend of my wife’s redundant without a thank you from anyone. In chapter 37 you would have read the sad story of Jacob Henningsson who was allegedly robbed by the bank after setting up his company. And the biggest dislike is the way the company has been allowed to be run badly. RBS has been majority state-owned since 2008, when it received a £45bn bailout at the height of the financial crisis. The government plans to sell the entire public stake by 2023-2024 but is projected to lose around £28.5bn in the process, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility. By June 2018, the government’s stake in RBS had had dropped to 62.4%. This IMO was money well spent as the consequences of not doing so would have made the world recession of the 1930’s seems like a picnic in the park.

  As with the other five banks robbing the RBS following the tried and tested rule of engagement and entered the bank at 11.00am on the dot. However, there was still one customer at the first tellers counter, and he had already pointed a gun at the young lady and told her to fill his bag with notes. Jacob approached the man who looked as if he was high on drugs and pointed the cold barrel of his gun to the robber’s neck and told him to place his gun on the counter and step back. So shocked was the scruffy man that he put his gun down and ran out of the bank empty handed. We let him go and informed the teller that the real robbers had arrived, and she was to open the door and let me and my colleagues in. This she did and everything went as clockwork and we picked up the original robber’s handgun and made a sharp exit and had a quiet stroll back to the railway station and wait for the 11.55 train to Kempston Hardwick.

  Chapter 61. Santander Bank 35-37 Midland Road, Bedford

  The sixth set of robbers hit the Santander bank which is on the Midland road and part of the largest shopping centre in Bedford known as the Harper centre. Santander UK plc is a bank, wholly owned by the Spanish Santander Group. When the bank started out between the years of 2007 to 2010 it had some terrible reviews and a very poor relationship with its customers but in a survey carried out in 2014 it ranked their satisfaction higher than with any of other main high street banks. It had a nice spread of customers and being a European bank always had an active foreign currency section, so the team were expecting to get a fair share of Euros for their effort today.

  The team for this bank was Mike Hood, Tony Weston and John Tredwood. When arriving at 10.45 the team was shocked to find that there was a large protest going on when they arrived at the Harper centre organised by the Save Our Oceans group who were trying to get plastic banned by forcing manufactures to recycle their plastic, so that it didn’t end up in the sea. Although the team were keen to play their part on recycling, they were there to do a different type of recycling themselves and welcomed anything that would keep the police off their backs. As with all our banks the formula worked fine, and our three modern day merry men carried out their task and headed back to the railway station yet avoiding getting close to ATM’s but with a smile on their faces.

  Chapter 62. Plastic protest

  The Norwegian Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) is claimed to be the most effective in the w
orld, with 96% of bottles being returned for plastic recycling. The system has been a massive success in the Scandinavian country, as well as in Germany and some parts of the USA and Canada. The organisers of the protest state that not enough was being done to force producers to switch over to the DRS scheme. Save Our Oceans protesters were expecting a few hundred to turn out but once they had heard that the Environment Secretary George Eustice would be in town today to cut the ribbon on the first DRS scheme in the UK, it was estimated that the number had grown to around 1,000 protesters.

  This had caught the police with their trousers down as they simply didn’t have enough staff in place to control this number. The popular belief is that the UK should follow the Norwegian method where the government put a tax on every plastic bottle that's not recycled - then leave the operating details of the scheme up to the various businesses involved. Older readers may remember when you could collect empty beer and pop bottles and return them to the off-licence who paid you back in cash which you could then spend on crisp and sweets. Milk bottles were never a problem as you left the empty glass bottles out on your doorstep and the milkman would deliver your fresh pints and take the old ones back. In Norway, the deposit-return machine accepts only two types of plastic bottle, with approved labels and even approved glue to fix the labels. This allows the labels to be stripped easily and simplifies recycling. More on what happened to George Eustice the environment Secretary in the following chapters.