POLICE are investigating a vicious robbery after a security guard was injured and thieves made off with a cash box.
Two police vans, cars and specialist dog unit were called to the scene of NatWest at Castle Lane West at 11am on Wednesday following reports that a G4S driver was robbed by two offenders.
The guard - a man in his 30s - sustained a minor injury to his arm but did not require hospital treatment.
Dorset Police believe the raiders made off with an empty cash box later found discarded. No weapons were known to have been used.
It is the third such incident in as many months after two other G4S security vans were targeted.
As previously reported, thieves robbed a G4S driver at Barclays on November 3 - just next door to NatWest - and again at Santander at Ashley Road, Poole, on November 5.
- Security guard robbed by three men outside Barclays Bank
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Gang with sledgehammer rob G4S security guard outside Santander
The NPAS helicopter crew assisted officers on the ground.
Detectives are now appealing for witnesses.
DS Ian Allen, of Bournemouth CID, said: “We are aware that there were a number of people who were in the area at the time and may have witnessed the incident. I would also like to hear from anyone who saw two men acting suspiciously in the Castle Lane West area.”
No arrests have been made.
Gareth Skinner, head of operational risk at G4S Cash Solutions, said the guard was “badly shaken by the attack”, adding: “We take these incidents very seriously and are working closely with the police with their enquiries.”
A NatWest spokesperson said the bank was co-operating with the investigation.
A hand-written sign placed on the bank’s glass doors informed customers of its closure while police carried out interviews.
A crime scene investigator was seen indoors soon afterwards.
Ian Springer, 45, from Boscombe, told the Echo: “It’s disgusting people can’t do their jobs these days without this happening.
"I moved away to get away from all these things happening all the time. where people have guns and knives and things. When you move here, you don’t expect to see this.
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