A man whose face was masked was able to rob a bank because the manager did not feel comfortable approaching him as she feared he had a skin condition and did not want to cause offence.
Simon Jones, 38, stood quietly in a queue in a Country Durham Natwest branch alongside other customers for 15 minutes wearing blue latex gloves, a pulled-up hooded top, a facemask and dark glasses whilst carrying a bottle of Febreze and a holdall.
The bank's manager, Gemma Hughes, asked only whether she could help him as he stood in line, Durham Crown court was told.
When reaching the front of the line, Jones told the cashier he had acid and a bomb, before forcing her to place £370 in his bag.
Ms Hughes had even tried to hand over a decoy £1,000 bundle containing a tracking device, but it failed to work.