POLICE were called to a "suspicious bag" at a high street bank yesterday afternoon.

Officers rushed to Ringwood's Lloyds Bank in High Street shortly after 3pm on Monday, February 12.

Staff and customers were evacuated from the branch while a sniffer dog went in to assess the bag.

A road block was also put in place until eventually it was established it was a false alarm and the block was stood down at around 4.30pm.

A Ringwood police officer said: "We had a busy one yesterday. What started off as a routine shift, turned into an emergency call that a "suspect package" had been noticed by staff in a high street bank and that they were evacuating the building.

"We were on scene within a few minutes and quickly acted to cordon off the roads and inform the surrounding businesses.

"An explosive search dog was called who quickly used his nose to tell us that the package was safe

Hampshire Police's spokesperson said: "We were called at 3.24pm yesterday, February 12, to a report of a suspicious bag in Lloyds Bank on Ringwood High Street.

"Officers attended and confirmed there was nothing of concern in the bag. The road was reopened at about 4.30pm."

A Lloyd's spokeswoman said: “We closed our Ringwood branch temporarily yesterday after a bag was left unattended.

"The branch was reopened after colleagues identified the owner, and the branch is open as normal today."