Leprechaun shot dead after St Patrick’s Day bank heist

Two bank robbers, one dressed as a leprechaun, were shot dead yesterday after carrying out a St Patrick's Day heist in Nashville, Tennessee.

The themed robbery began at 12.30pm, when a man dressed in a green top hat, vest and shorts and sporting a brown wig and fake beard (like the toy pictured) walked into a branch of the Fifth Third Bank in the Gallatin suburb of Tennessee.

"He started to come in, then looked at his watch, then turned around and left," Sharon Riehemann, the bank's manager told Associated Press. It is thought the leprechaun was concerned that the bank was too crowded - unsurprising, given he chose to attempt his heist during most people's lunch hour.

The armed leprechaun then walked next door to another bank, the First State, which he held up with what police described as a "large-calibre gun". He and his getaway driver escaped with an undisclosed sum of money - but police in a patrol car immediately spotted them.

During the chase, one police car was written off after being hit by gunfire. Eventually the leprechaun and his getaway driver abandoned their car in a field and fled on foot. They were both shot dead after a gun fight with police. ·