4
0
A drug addict posed as a high-ranking ISIS commander armed with a suicide vest during a series of bank robberies.
Michael Thorpe, 39, strapped a fake homemade 'bomb' to his chest, carried an imitation firearm and even wore a burka during his terrifying crime spree.
The crude device, which consisted of three spray cans and an LCD screen duct-taped to the front with 'TNT' written on the front, left staff fearing for their lives.
Thorpe, from Wythenshawe, Manchester, told bank workers he was a "high commander of ISIS" who was prepared to detonate a suicide bomb.
In his first robbery, he handed staff a note which read: "I am standing in front of you with a bomb aimed at you with a trigger in my right hand.
"I am a controlled worker working for ISIS. You have 60 seconds until you die. Ishalla."
'Ishalla' was a misspelling of the Arabic phrase 'inshallah' which means 'if God wills it'.
One brave worker saw through Thorpe's crude setup and screwed up a threatening note telling him to "get lost", the Manchester Evening News reports .