Footage of attempted bank robbery released

Police have released footage of the armed robbery of Blockhouse Bay ASB in an attempt to identify the offender.

A man wearing a full-faced white motorcycle helmet attempted to rob the bank with a sawn-off shotgun about 4.10pm on Tuesday.

Auckland City Police Detective Senior Sergeant Glenn Baldwin said they now believed the offender left the scene on a small, white, sports motorcycle and were appealing for anyone who had seen the motorcycle to contact police.

"We believe the offender has left the carpark behind the Blockhouse Bay shops on a motorcycle at 4.17pm and turned onto Kinross St towards the Blockhouse Bay roundabout."

The offender demanded cash however bank staff activated the emergency security screens which prevented him getting any money so he ran away.

The man was wearing a distinctive blue hooded sweatshirt with large white lettering on the front and back. He wore dark coloured long pants with blue sports shoes.

"This offender has run into the bank and demanded cash while pointing a shotgun at staff and he needs to be held to account for what he's done, fortunately no one was hurt," Baldwin said.

"Blockhouse Bay is a tight knit community and we are appealing for the public to contact us if they saw anything unusual or out of the ordinary on Tuesday afternoon. The robbery occurred at 4.10pm on a weekday after schools had finished and there would have been a lot of people in the area at the time and urge anyone with information to call us."

Call police on (09) 302 6557​ or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 if you have information.