AARON Thompson, who threatened to blow up three banks unless he received thousands of pounds, has been handed four years in custody.

Thompson, 20, rang up Barclays, Queensferry, and The Money Shop at Chester and Ellesmere Port.

He caused chaos and loss of business, and at Chester £11,000 was lost when the cash was put out by the back door and it was taken by someone else.

The bomb hoaxes caused properties in the centre of Queensferry to be evacuated for hours and the bomb squad was called out.

Mold Crown Court heard that Thompson was traced by his mobile telephone which he used to ring police the day before the first bomb hoax.

Thompson, of Hoole Lane, Chester, was told that he had caused “terror, fear and upset”.

Mr Recorder Andrew Keyser QC said: “Society cannot have people going around doing this sort of thing.

“You threatened to detonate the premises with explosives unless cash was made available.”

Gareth Preston, prosecuting, said that on October 25 last year Thompson rang The Money Shop in Chester and told an employee there were 12 packages of explosives there.

He demanded thousands of pounds and said that he could see him and listen to him.

The premises had been robbed before, the employee was so frightened and distressed that he did as he was told and he put £11,000 at the back door.

He rang The Money Shop in Ellesmere Port on October 31 and said he had placed a nail bomb at the back and said: “I am the person who did it in Chester. You know what happened there.”

Thompson said that the back of the Ellesmere Port premises were less secure and said he had three minutes to put bags of money over a rear wall. Police were called and the premises were evacuated.