Police in North Carolina are searching for a man who robbed a bank while dressed head-to-toe as Darth Vader from Star Wars - except he had a shotgun instead of a light saber.

The robbery happened at the Pineville State Employees Credit Union at about 11.45am on Monday, a time when there's a lot of foot traffic in and out of the area.

The man entered the bank dressed as Darth Vader and demanded money from the teller as he pointed a shotgun over the counter, police said.

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The man walked into a Pineville, North Carolina bank on Monday at about 11.45am, when customers and staff were in the building

The man, who was dressed in dark clothing and a Darth Vader mask, pointed a shotgun over the counter as he demanded money

Pineville Police said that the State Employees Credit Union is a high foot traffic area around mid-day, when the man went into the building

Unlike the massive and towering Darth Vader from the films, the suspect is about 5ft, 5in tall, police said. He was wearing dark clothing and a mask, according to WSOC.

The man fled the scene in a gray four-door Chevrolet Suburban, taking off with thousands of dollars, police said.

'You think about what time of day it was. It was right around lunch time in a very busy area, very busy intersection of our town,' Pineville Police Lt Corey Copley told WSOC.

'There's a lot of foot traffic in and out of the bank at that time of day. This is definitely something unusual you don't see every day in law enforcement,' he added.

Though there were customers and staff in the bank at the time, no one was injured during the robbery.

Unlike the massive and towering Darth Vader from the Star Wars films, the suspect is about 5ft, 5in tall

Though there were customers and staff in the bank at the time of the robbery, no one was injured during the incident