Bank staff playing hide and seek during a team building exercise sparked an armed robbery scare.

Police swooped on a branch of Natwest in Birmingham when a member of the public saw them cowering under desks.

But firearms officers were left stunned when red-faced staff admitted they were hiding around the office.

Chief Inspector Dave Keen, of West Midlands Police, posted details of the misunderstanding on Twitter. He wrote: "Thanks to the member of public who called in a suspected robbery at a bank in #Birmingham today, saw staff inside hiding under desks.

"@ResponseWMP @firearmsWMP quickly attended and confirmed it was a hide + seek team building exercise.

"Contacting us was the right call." A colleague joked on Twitter: "Coming, ready or not!"

A NatWest spokesperson said:"We are aware of an instance of the police being called out to a branch this morning.

"We would like to thank the police for their swift response following a call from the member of public.

"We can confirm that it was a false alarm, following a team building exercise, and will be speaking to the members of staff involved to ensure that they all learn from this incident."