Coming, ready or not! Bank hide and seek game raided

BANK staff playing hide and seek during a team building exercise caused an armed robbery scare yesterday.

Police attended a branch of Natwest when a member of the public saw them cowering under desks. But firearms officers were left stunned when redfaced staff admitted they were hiding around the office.

Ch Insp Dave Keen, of West Midlands Police, posted details of the misunderstanding on Twitter. He wrote: “Thanks to the member of public who called in a suspected robbery at a bank in Birmingham today, saw staff inside hiding under desks.

“West Midlands Police units quickly attended and confirmed it was a hide and seek team building exercise. Contacting us was the right call.”

A colleague joked on Twitter: “Coming, ready or not!”

A Natwest spokesman said: “We are aware of an instance of the police being called out to a branch.

“We would like to thank the police for their swift response following a call from the member of public.

“We will be speaking to the members of staff involved to ensure that they all learn from this incident.”