A Barclays bank manager thought a former employee was playing a practical joke on him this week 60 years ago, when he answered the door and was confronted by a man with a handkerchief over his face pointing a pistol at him.
Rafe Richards described to Clerkenwell Magistrates Court how he was told to put his "hands up".
But he slammed the door instead and called police.
His alleged assailant was charged with assault with intent to rob, and he was committed to the Old Bailey for trial.
In other news, the most famous ballerina of her generation, Alicia Markova, was guest at a grand ball organised by the Finsbury Park District Synagogue.
Born in Wilberforce Road in 1910, she said it was a great honour to be invited to attend the function in the area she once lived. The co-founder and director of the English National Ballet died five years ago.
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