A BRAZEN thief silently robbed a bank by pressing a handwritten note claiming he had a gun against the cashier's window.

The man walked into the Co-Operative Bank at The Rock in Bury town centre at about 4.50pm yesterday.

As he approached the cashier's desk he pulled out an A5-sized piece of paper on which was written 'GIVE ME YOUR MONEY. I HAVE A GUN.'

After the cashier gave the man some money he walked off, getting into a nearby taxi.

The man was dropped off in Tweedale Street, Rochdale.

A CCTV image of the man has now been released by police.

He is white, in his early 20s, pale and spotty, with a thin build, 6ft tall, with dark eyes and was wearing a dark top.

Det Sgt Ian Partington said police were confident the man would be recognised.

He added: "Although no weapon was physically seen, if you try to put yourselves in the shoes of the cashier you can begin to imagine how frightened she must have been to see this note pressed against her window.

"Clearly the offender had planned what he was going to do and had written out a note with the sole intention of using the threat of a weapon to scare the woman into giving him money.

"That makes him both a desperate and potentially dangerous man, and we need to find him as soon as possible.

"We know this man got into a taxi and was driven to the Tweedale Street area in Rochdale, so I would appeal to people to look closely at this image.

"It may be this man lives either in the Bury or Rochdale areas and if you recognise him, then please come forward."

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.