Brazilian police have killed 11 armed robbers as part of a 25-strong gang who stormed banks in five armoured cars on the outskirts of Sao Paulo.

Armed with assault rifles, pistols, revolvers and 12-gauge shotguns, the gangsters laid explosives to try and blow open ATMs at banks in Guararema, in Sao Paulo state, early on Thursday morning.

The police rushed to the scene to find them laying bombs by ATM machines at one of the bank branches next door to a police station.

The news follows Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro's claims he would be tough on crime, stating in his election campaign: 'We need to be really tough on crime to make criminals understand that they won't enjoy impunity.'

A police officer collects evidence from the armoured Hyundai which was riddled with bullets after a ferocious exchange with officers on the highway leading out of Guararema, near Sao Paulo

Weapons including explosives, assault rifles, 12-gauge shotguns and handguns were seized by police

Employees are pictured inside a bank branch shortly after military police busted a gang trying to blow up ATM machines

Their robberies began at around 4am in the centre of the city and surveillance footage captured masked men walking up to the banks and breaking windows with the butts of their rifles.

The police rushed to the scene of the loud disturbances taking place in the city and the men sped off in their modified cars.

Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has promised a tough stance on crime

The 11 dead men were shot during a hail of fire on a highway on the outskirts of the city and a reinforced Hyundai was left shredded by bullets.

No police officers were killed or wounded in the incident, and three suspects were arrested - the rest of the robbers escaped.

Police told Globo TV that two others fled an armoured Subaru and ran towards nearby woodland.

One was killed as he dashed towards the trees at the side of the road, while the second died after taking hostages in an apartment.

The occupier, Vanderleia Vicente Gomes, told the broadcaster: 'He started to knock on the door and asked my husband to open it.'

She was with her husband and mother-in-law and said the gunman told her husband, 'Open, there's a boy here who's a hostage, if you do not open it, I'll kill him.'

Weapons magazines stuffed with rounds and armoured vests lie on the road as the police collect evidence

Minucipal workers carry the coffin containing the body of a suspect at the scene where policemen faced a gang after attempting an armed bank robbery

Police collect evidence around the Hyundai which appears to have been fitted with bullet proof glass

The gunman took them all hostage, along with the concierge and when police arrived he refused to surrender.

He was killed in a brief exchange of fire, Globo reported.

Other members of the 25-strong gang were able to escape through rural roads.

Police said agents chased the criminals through Guararema, a city of about 28,000 people 50 miles north of Sao Paulo.

The statement said the agents seized seven assault weapons, four pistols, explosives and bulletproof vests.

Banks Santander and Banco do Brasil did not inform whether any amounts had been stolen from their branches.

Coffins are prepared beside the 4x4 to load the deceased and take them from the scene

A police car blocks a road, where policemen faced a gang after they sped away from attempting an armed bank robbery

Images obtained by TV Globo showed the two bank branches with their windows smashed.

New Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria, who has pledged to crack down on crime with violence if needed, said the officers involved in the shooting are to be celebrated.

'Criminals who use shotguns, assault weapons and machine guns are not out for a stroll. They were out to rob and create victims,' Doria told GloboNews. 'I congratulate the policemen who acted and put more criminals in the cemetery.'

Doria supported pro-gun far-right President Jair Bolsonaro in October's election.

Military policemen stand outside a police station which was next to their station after the gang attempted their brazen robbery

An employee is seen inside a damaged branch of Banco do Brasil, after an armed bank robbery by a gang in Guararema

Military police vehicles remain parked outside a bank branch near a police station on Thursday morning

Bolsonaro celebrated the policemen later on Thursday for their 'quick and efficient action' in Guararema. 'Eleven criminals were killed and no innocents were wounded. Good job!' he wrote.

Crime is rife in Brazil, where more than 60,000 people died in violence last year. The country's police have long been accused of extra-judicial killings and violence.

The modified cars used by the criminals are reminiscent of the Fast and Furious Hollywood movie franchise which depicts brazen chases in cars which are often altered to withstand gunfire.