Debt-ridden pensioner, 74, who planted a fake bomb in a bank and issued a ransom note because he wanted the manager to know how it felt to get threatening letters is jailed for three years

Reginald Esqulant, 74, caused the bomb squad to shut down a high street in Kent
He visited the Santander bank in Sevenoaks and passed the letter to the cashier
Esqulant was arrested the next day after his car was identified at the crime scene
Father of three angry about calls regarding a missed £2,196 mortgage payment

Published: 15:20 GMT, 16 December 2016 | Updated: 15:29 GMT, 16 December 2016

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Reginald Esqulant carrying the package which he used in bomb scare at a bank

A debt-ridden pensioner planted a fake bomb to blackmail a bank manager because he was sick of getting repeated letters about his debt.

Reginald Esqulant caused the bomb squad to shut down a high street when he put a suspect package in the Santander bank.

Wearing one latex glove, the 74-year-old went to the bank in Sevenoaks, Kent, on February 8 this year and passed the letter in an envelope to cashier Patricia Booth.

Esqulant had written the letter in the bank demanding the money was to be left in an empty butchers shop in an alleyway.

Staff were initially not sure what to make of it but then saw that a brown box had been left in the reception area.

He left the bank after he tried to light a cigarette and was told he could not smoke in the building.

The bank and surrounding area in Sevenoaks, Kent, were evacuated after he handed over the letter in which he threatened to explode the device if the cash was not paid.

Analysis of the package later showed it contained a portion of a coloured paving slab within a hessian bag for life, which was in a cardboard box.

Esqulant was arrested at his home the following day after a VW Golf he had used to travel to the crime scene was identified by police.

The businessman and father of three claimed he only wanted to speak to the manager about threatening letters and telephone calls he had been receiving about a missing mortgage payment of £2,196 for his family home.

Esqulant had written the letter in the bank demanding the money was to be left in an empty butchers shop in an alleyway

Wearing one latex glove (shown), the 74-year-old went to the bank in Sevenoaks, Kent, on February 8 this year and passed the letter in an envelope to cashier Patricia Booth

Analysis of the package later showed it contained a portion of a coloured paving slab within a hessian bag for life, which was in a cardboard box

He insisted he had no intention of getting money from the bank and just wanted to confront the manager and ask how he would like it if he received threatening letters.

At Maidstone Crown Court Esqulant admitted making the hoax but denied blackmail and was convicted by a jury in August.

Today he was jailed for three years and four months.

He also denied taking a car without authority and driving while disqualified, but was also convicted of those offences.

Prosecutor Jennifer Oborne said Esqulant was desperate for money because he was in serious debt and faced a demand at the time from HM Revenue and Customs for over £106,162.

Judge David Griffith-Jones QC described the offence as 'extraordinary' as well as 'bizarre and hairbrained'.

As he sentenced on the basis it was a vindictive act, he added: 'There was no expectation of securing substantial sums of money and no particular intention to cause substantial financial loss to the bank.

Prosecutor Jennifer Oborne said Esqulant was desperate for money because he was in serious debt and faced a demand at the time from HM Revenue and Customs for over £106,162

'Inevitably, there had been some short term limited financial loss.'

Esqulant, of West Kingsdown, Kent, was also banned from driving for three years and nine 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.'