Gun-wielding kidnappers seize bank manager - as a prank

He can see the funny side now. But bank manager Tony Sharp wasn't laughing when he fell victim to a fake kidnapping devised by a friend intent on making his 40th birthday one to remember.

Mr Sharp was seized at gunpoint on his way to work by masked men in what he thought was a Securitas-style raid.



As Mr Sharp was distracted by a long text message – all part of the plan – he was ambushed by two guntoting figures in boiler suits and balaclavas. A pillowcase was pulled over his head and he was driven to Penzance railway station.

There he was ordered out of the car to hear cameras clicking, which he thought was pictures being taken to prove to his family and the bank that he was a hostage.



He was beginning to fear he was about to meet his maker when the gang revealed themselves – as a dozen of Mr Sharp's bank colleagues and his friend Les Allen, who had planned the stunt in revenge for one played on him last year. But then the pillowcase was whipped off and he saw Mr Allen and the others in fits of laughter.

A police spokesman said: "In general we would discourage this sort of thing. It is not a good idea to go around in public with replica or toy guns and balaclavas."