Dog Collar Criminal is based on the true story of a Paignton vicar who, in the 1970s, started out on a crime spree, which ended up with him robbing a bank in Plymouth. He was aided and abetted by his trusty housekeeper.

Tom Austin won a £3,000 bursary to put history back on the big screen. He said: “I discovered the story about 18 months ago in the Bygones section of the Herald Express (local newspaper) and thought I had to make a film of this extraordinary story. Rev Stephen Care lived a double life, preaching to his flock on Sundays but carrying out a two-year crime spree on other days.

In his most audacious crime, he walked into a bank in Southway, Plymouth, in the summer of 1975 with a pretend bomb and threatened to blow everyone up unless they gave him ‘the money’. Disguised with a false moustache, the Rev Care opened the suitcase he was carrying and revealed a battery and wires connected to tubes wrapped in brown paper, with a red flashing light on top. The pretend bomb even made a ticking noise. Almost £2,000 was hurriedly handed over by terrified staff.

His accomplice that day was none other than his frail and deaf housekeeper from Paignton, 58-year-old Stella Bunting, who had been charmed into taking part in the Rev Care’s escapade. During the subsequent investigation, police dubbed them Biddy and Clyde.