Northern Bank staff sent home ahead of robbery, court hears

A bank official told the Northern Bank trial today that he sent staff home early so he and a colleague could empty the vault.

Assistant manager Kevin McMullan was giving evidence for the second day running at the trial of a junior colleague charged with the £26.5m (€33.4m) robbery in Belfast in December 2004.

He said he told staff on the late shift at the bank's cash centre a false story to get them away some three hours earlier than normal.

He told Belfast Crown Court: "I told them there had been a problem with the balance and myself and Chris were going to have to do a full note count. I told them that they were dismissed and everyone could go home.

"It didn't take them very long to go, I think they were happy enough to get away."

Bank supervisor Chris Ward - the only person to have been charged with robbing the bank in the city's Donegall Square - was left in the cash centre with Mr McMullan.

Ward (aged 26) of Colinmill, Poleglass, on the outskirts of west Belfast, denies the robbery charge and two charges of abducting Mr McMullan and his wife Kyran.

Mr McMullan was taken hostage in his home in County Down the night before the robbery was staged and his wife taken away. He was warned she would be killed unless he followed the robbery gang's instructions.

Some hours later Mr Ward was delivered to the house by members of the gang and was in an agitated state.

He told Mr McMullan his family was also being held.

Mr McMullan said: "We both said we would do anything we had to do to make sure they were safe."

He told the trial that after sending the staff home he and Ward stuffed a sports bag full of bundles of £100 and £50 notes which Ward then carried outside where he had been told to ring the gang for instructions.

Mr McMullan also revealed how he had panicked when he could not check in on time with the gang on a mobile phone they had given him to ring them on.

He said he could not get a signal in the cash centre and had to go outside.

"I was panicking because I was late and I was worried about what might happen to Kyran," he said.

"I apologised for being late. I told them I could not get reception within the cash centre."

He said he got a response from one of the gang who said: "OK, you're doing fine, everything is all right. Make sure your friend phones next time."

Earlier, he told the trial how he and Ward had been held in a back bedroom at his home at Loughinisland overnight. The gang had told them to try and get some sleep but he said he could not.

"Sleep seemed a ridiculous idea to me," he added.

Mr McMullan said that at half past six in the morning the gang finally left the house telling them to get showered and shaved and drive to work in time for the start of their 12 o'clock shift. They were told to arrive as normal but 15 minutes apart.

Mr McMullan said the two men had set off in his car much earlier than he would normally do so because he was concerned his father might drop in for a quick chat as he often did when his son was on the late shift.

He said: "We drove along the road and I met my father coming along - I just drove on."

The two men got to Belfast far too early to go to work and parked in a lay-by beside the River Lagan at Ormeau Embankment.

"A black Citroen estate car pulled in a couple of car lengths behind us. Chris was not comfortable and got a bit nervous and thought we should get going," he said.

"This car pulled in behind us out of the blue and he felt maybe someone was watching us."

He dropped Mr Ward a few hundred yards from the bank, went and parked his car and arrived for work.

"I tried to go around the department and get stuck into my normal duties, answer emails, make it look like as normal a day as possible," he said.