Detective inspector Liam Ennis of the PSNI told delegates at the Irish Bank Officials' Association in Dublin last week that in one instance last year in Belfast the PSNI had to remove a bank official from his house after he had "gabbed about his job in the back of a taxi" to the wrong person who then targeted him for a tiger kidnapping.

A poll of bank staff released to the conference yesterday showed almost one in four bank staff find their job "very stressful". The association passed an emergency motion proposing that staff refuse to accept keyholder duties from next September unless the banks significantly improve security measures.

Ennis revealed there were 13 tiger kidnappings in NI last year. There have been seven so far this year. He said the PSNI works closely with gardai, particularly on tiger kidnappings that occur near the border. "When it happens near the border, invariably the criminal gangs will take the hostage to one side of the border and make the demand from the other in a bid to avoid detection. But we have excellent relations with the gardai to counteract this.

"A tiger kidnap usually lasts for just 12 or 13 hours. . .

But it is a horrifying experience. . . one that will affect you for the rest of your life, " he told the delegates.