The knife-wielding man threatened a woman member of staff in the Natwest Bank in High Street, Hamble, then fled the scene with cash.
Barely 30 minutes later police officers had made an arrest, and last night a suspect was in custody.
The rob
ber struck at 11.45am and the alarm was raised from inside the bank.
Uniformed police and CID officers attended and within minutes the bank was cordoned off while officers spread out to search the area.
The bank worker was not injured but residents and workers in the village have been left shocked.
Jeff Barker, 62, of Satchell Lane, Hamble, said: 'This is definitely not the kind of place you would expect an armed robbery to happen. It's such a quiet village. At this time of year there's hardly anybody out and about in the main square.'
Hamble resident Phil Riley, who was passing through the village, said: 'There were police officers all over the area and there was a spotter-plane overhead as well.'
Officers arrested a 55-year-old man from the Hamble area barely a mile from the bank. Last night he was being held at Eastleigh police station on suspicion of robbery, assault, and taking a vehicle without the owner's consent.
The full article contains 233 words and appears in NS-Havant & Waterlooville newspaper.
