Bank robbers blast car windscreen

Press, 26 July 1989, Page 1

Bank robbers blast car windscreen

PA Palmerston North Three armed robbers wearing balaclavas held up the Awapuni Postßank in Palmerston North yesterday. The police said one of the robbers shot a car windscreen with a sawn-off shotgun. No-one was injured in the robbery. The police were unable to release further' details of the robbery. A man who chased the robbers told how the trio shot a windscreen with a sawn-off shotgun. Telecom Central’s finance director, Mr Alan Menhennet, had turned into Pitama Road about 10.40 a.m. when he saw a masked man in a white Mini parked outside the bank. Two other men carrying a canvas bag ran across the road to the car and jumped in.

Mr Menhennet followed the Mini while he called the police on his car’s mobile telephone. He trailed the car to a hotel car-park, when the robbers suddenly noticed they had been followed. One of the masked men jumped out of the car and chased Mr Menhennet with a sawn-off shotgun. The man stopped about 10m from his car, aimed, and fired a shot into the front windscreen. Mr Menhennet reversed rapidly and escaped out of the car-park. His windscreen was broken but he was unhurt. Mr Menhennet said he felt safe following the robbers in his car, and became fearful only when "one of the jokers came running at me with a sawn-off shotgun and started firing at me at close

range.” He expected his windscreen to explode in his face and could not believe how well it held. “They must be made pretty tough these days. “Next time they should pick a better getaway car. The Mini had a quarter of a mile headstart on me but I soon caught up,” he said. The robbers split up and made off in the Mini and a light green Valiant.

The Mini was recovered by the police in Amberley Avenue near the Kawau stream, but a police dog failed to track any occupants. The Valiant was still missing last night. The police were reluctant to say how much was stolen, but Senior-Sergeant Paula Stevens said the amount was in the thousands.