A knife-wielding would-be bank robber came unstuck when he ordered a cashier to pay money directly into his own account.

Bungling Paul Neaverson, 61, who has no previous convictions, went into a high street branch of NatWest and approached the counter.

He told the cashier, “put £500 in my account”, before producing the knife.

The startled employee hit the bank’s alarm button and Neaverson turned and ran away.

Maidstone Crown Court heard this week that he also tried to rob a branch of HSBC, just 400ft away.

Again he fled empty-handed after the cashier told him he did not have £500 in the till.

Neaverson was arrested by police, who arrived soon after the second failed robbery, in Rainham, Kent.

In court, Danny Moore, defending, said of Neaverson’s attempts: “It was ridiculous. It only had one ending.

"He now finds himself staring down the barrel of a very long sentence.”

The court heard he told police he needed the cash to book a flight to Corfu for an interview as a golf coach.

Neaverson, of Rainham, pleaded guilty to two attempted robberies and possession of a blade, and was jailed for two years.