Laurence Vonderdell left staff shaken after pretending that his banana was a gun (Picture: INS)

A man who told Barclays staff ‘this is a stick up, give me the cash’ while pointing a banana at them has been given a 14-month prison sentence.

Laurence Vonderdell, 50, convinced staff that the banana was a gun so they handed over £1,100 in £20 bank notes.

He raided the bank in Bournemouth, Dorset, leaving staff terrified before handing himself in to police.

He went into the bank at 10.30am on March 25 this year, approached one of the clerks and aimed the banana covered in an orange plastic bag at them.

The clerk did not know if it was a genuine threat so handed over the cash and Vonderdell calmly strolled out of the building.

He later admitted robbery and possession of an imitation firearm.

Detective Constable Andy Hale said: ‘Even though the defendant handed himself in shortly after this incident and the cash was recovered, this must still have been a very distressing incident for the cashier involved.’

Vonderdell has been jailed for 14 months for the robbery at a Barclays in Bournemouth (Picture: INS)
Staff at the bank were said to be terrified and handed over £1,000 in £20 notes (Picture: INS)