Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

‘My life changed that day’ — Fife taxi driver relives day he was forced to rob bank

Alistair Rankin.
Alistair Rankin.

A taxi driver who was ordered to rob a bank with a fake bomb said the terrifying ordeal has left him afraid for his life.

Alistair Rankin, 46, feared he would be blown up after being kidnapped at gunpoint by Andy Patrick, who spoke in a bizarre fake Polish accent, and forced him to carry what he thought was an explosive device.

The dad-of-one was told to go into a bank in Kirkcaldy with the dummy bomb and pass over a note demanding money.

He was handed almost £10,000 but when he returned to his taxi Patrick, from Lochgelly, had gone.

The robbery sparked a three-week-long manhunt involving armed police, a bomb disposal team, air support and a dog unit.

Alistair, and his 44-year-old wife Tracey, had to flee their home in Cowdenbeath amid fears they had been caught up in an organised heist  involving eastern European gangsters.

Alistair now suffers from post- traumatic stress disorder symptoms.

He said: “My life changed that day. It’s going to take years to get over it.

“For most of the journey to the bank Patrick was on the phone to someone.

“It’s always been my suspicion he was working with someone else.”

The November incident was the  second time he had been hijacked.

In 2000 a teenager with a knife ordered him to run over two police  officers in Cowdenbeath.

Alistair has worked for Cowdenbeath Taxi Services since he was 17.

He said the day began as any other.

Just after 1.30pm a call came in to pick up a “group of Polish men” at Lochgelly

Industrial Estate but just one man got into the cab and told him to drive to
Kirkcaldy.

Alistair said: “He spent the entire 15-minute journey speaking on the phone in what sounded like Polish.”

He added: “He eventually asked me to pull over next to the Bank of Scotland and hung up the phone.”

Heavily disguised in a baseball cap, scarf and sunglasses, Patrick brandished a handgun and revealed himself as a bank robber.

Despite being told to turn off his phones, Alistair managed to dial his work number.

Horrified colleagues heard the unfolding drama and alerted police.

Alistair said: “I said to him ‘what have I done to you to deserve this?’

“He just said ‘do as you are told and you will be safe’.”