Robbery and abandoned car sparks heavy police presence in Welcome Bay, Tauranga

A heavy police presence is being felt in Welcome Bay this morning. Photo / file

Three people have been arrested following a robbery which resulted in road spikes being laid in a Tauranga suburb this morning.

A Bay of Plenty Times reader who was driving along Welcome Bay Rd at 7.15am said he could see "lots of cops around, across the road from the gas station", near Forrester Drive.

"There's a whole heap of cops with their lights flashing and everything," he said.

A woman who works in the Welcome Bay shopping centre, next door to the Caltex station, said she noticed a heavy police presence across the road about 7.20am.

"Some of the police have gone now but there are still a few there."

The woman, who would not be named, said she had no idea what was happening but suspected she would find out from customers through the course of the day.

A police spokeswoman said they received a call just after 6am about a vehicle spotted on State Highway 29, believed to be related to a robbery.

She said the vehicle travelled toward Tauriko, then down Takitimu Drive toward Mount Maunganui, then down to the Sandhurst Drive area of Pāpāmoa.

Police followed sightings of the vehicle into Welcome Bay and laid road spikes but the vehicle was abandoned in Tye Park.

The robbery was reported in Hamilton about 4am, she said.

The three people taken into custody are understood to juveniles.