Police seeking bank robbery witnesses

Police investigating the gunpoint robbery of a Palmerston North bank yesterday have released pictures of the car they believe was used as a getaway vehicle.

They hope witnesses may have seen the car in the hours before the robbery.

The ANZ in Terrace End was targeted about 10.45am. One man threatened bank staff with a long-barrelled gun and got away with an undisclosed amount of cash.

A second man was waiting in a stolen car outside the bank. It was found abandoned about an hour later in suburban Kelvin Grove.

The maroon Mitsubishi RVR had been taken overnight from a house in Highbury and was reported stolen around 7.30am, said Detective Sergeant Dave Thompson.

"At the very least that means it would have been parked up somewhere in the area for some hours before the robbery," he said.

"Someone may also have seen it being driven erratically, or at speed, away from the Highbury address from which it was stolen, or away from the bank after the robbery."

The car had distinctive two-tone colouring - maroon body with grey sills. It had a front bullbar, central yellow headlamps, roof bars and 'RVR' written in large white letters on the rear driver's side wing.

Both men were described as Maori. The man who entered the bank was "quite short", wearing dark clothing including a hoodie, and had some sort of bandana covering his face.

Mr Thompson said the clothes could have since been thrown away and he would like to hear from anyone who finds them.

The driver was believed to be a taller man.

A member of the public reported the two men running away after abandoning the car in Kelvin Grove.

"Everything we know at the moment suggests these men are local and familiar with the area so we strongly believe the key to identifying them is the public of Palmerston North," Mr Thompson said.

- NZPA