Natwest customer glued himself to desk in Grimsby branch after account frozen

Man glued to desk in Natwest, Grimsby
Police were called after the man glued his hand to the desk. Credit: MEN Media

A frustrated customer says he glued himself to a desk in a branch of Natwest after his bank account was frozen.

The man, who asked to remain anonymous, said he was driven to take "drastic" action after struggling to withdraw money from the branch in Grimsby.

Pictures from the scene show police inside the Victoria Street bank during the incident on Thursday, 17 November.

The man, who runs a business, said he had been told his account was "non-operational", meaning money could not go in or out.

He told the Grimsby Live website he was worried about how he would pay his 40 staff.

"I've been trying to find out what's going on with this bank account, but every time I ask for an explanation they just tell me the same thing and nobody can seem to give me the answer behind it all," he said.

"I had no idea what to do and in the end I just decided I had to do something quite drastic.

"I've rung different teams and spoken to people in the branch, but as soon as they look into it I get told the same thing every time. I think there's probably something more going on behind the scenes."

Police were called to removed the man. Credit: MEN Media

He said it was "not fair" on his staff that they had been left in doubt about whether they would be paid. "Things are hard for everyone at the minute and things like this don't help in the slightest," he added.

A letter sent to the customer by Natwest said the company could not comment on why his account had been frozen.

It said: "Your account is currently non-operational and no credits or debits can be processed. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. The bank is unable to further comment at this time, however we will revert to you as soon as we are able."

Humberside Police said officers were called to the branch at around 2.30pm on 17 November.

A spokesperson said: "Officers attended and the situation came to a safe conclusion at around 4.15pm." 

Natwest has been contacted for comment.


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