POLICE are hunting a man who robbed a high street bank in broad daylight after threatening staff.
Local shop workers say they were told the man claimed to have a bomb at the TSB bank in Victoria Road, Netherfield but police insist he was unarmed.
The man, described as olive-skinned and speaking with a foreign accent, made off in the direction of Station Road at around 10.30am on Friday August 1
Nigel Ferris, of car accessories store Motabits, saw police arrive at the scene.
"There must have been dozens of police here," he said. "People have been asking about it all day. One car came straight away and it was followed by more – including what looked like CID. I saw police helicopters circling the town later."
Mr Ferris said police had kept staff and customers inside the bank for around half an hour while they investigated.
"They kept a few inside," he said, including one man with a little girl who must have been about seven or eight."
A local hairdresser, who did not want to be named, said she was told by police that the robber made off with around £3,000 in cash and had told staff he had a bomb.
"They came in asking for CCTV," said the hairdresser.
"The police told me he had said he had a bomb and got away with about £3,000," she said.
Trisha Murphy, of Curzon Street, was having a coffee with husband Roger at the time of the robbery.
She said: "Somebody said there's been a robbery at the bank and then suddenly a police helicopter was flying really low. It must have happened so quickly because we didn't hear anything. When we saw the police helicopter we knew something was going off."
Mrs Murphy, who has lived in Netherfield for more than 30 years, said it was the only incident of its kind in the town she could remember.
Nottinghamshire Police are appealing for information about the robbery.
They said the man was wearing a cream-coloured hat with a black-and-white bandana over his mouth.
He was also said to be wearing a black jacket, blue jeans and black trainers and to be carrying a black satchel.
Anyone with any information is asked to call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
