THE corridors and court rooms at Oxford Crown Court must have heard some bizarre stories over the years.

But there cannot be many stranger tales than that of Nationwide building society customer Christopher Wardell.

The 64-year-old from Burdrop, a regular customer at the Banbury branch, brandished a replica pistol during a meeting with a member of staff.

It is truly impossible to grasp what was going through his mind when he walked into the building society with an imitation firearm.

Any cashier who has a gun pointed at them – whether real or otherwise – is bound to be deeply affected by the experience. We hope account manager Leanne Dalby was not permanently damaged by the experience.

In this case Wardell was lucky his actions did not result in him looking down a barrel himself – or worse.

Wardell could have sparked a much more serious response and wasted a considerable amount of taxpayers’ money by his so-called “joke”.

We doubt he will be laughing much as he carries out his 150 hours of unpaid work over the next few months.