ARMED robbers lay in wait for a bank manager before threatening him with a knife and locking him up in a safe.

Detectives were last night still combing the area for clues and trawling through CCTV footage in a bid to catch the two robbers.

The knife-wielding pair forced their way into Lloyds TSB in Banbury Road, Summertown, Oxford, before fleeing with a “substantial amount” of cash from the safe.

They pounced on the 51-year-old manager as he was opening the branch at about 8.40am and forced him to open the safe at knifepoint.

He was found locked up in the safe by police about an hour later.

Det Insp Simon Morton, who was at the scene, said: “It would appear there was one black male and one white male. One of them was armed with a knife.

“The bank manager was opening the branch when they bundled him into the back of the bank and forced him to hand over an amount of money. This is a really rare occurrence.

“There must have been a lot of witnesses.”

A bank colleague raised the alarm at 9.17am and police cordoned off the bank, turning customers away.

When police got into the bank, the manager was found locked inside the safe.

An ambulance was called to the bank, which is on the corner of Oakthorpe Road, and paramedics treated the manager at the scene.

He was said to be in a state of shock but unharmed.

Police would not say exactly how much was taken but added it was a “substantial” amount of money.

Hayfield Road resident Dan Robinson said: “This is not the sort of thing I would have expected to see in Summertown. I’m glad the police are here.”

Another passer-by said: “You don’t expect to see something like this happen these days.”

Tracey Herbert, who works at The Curtains Shop opposite the bank, said: “We had no idea what happened but it is quite shocking.”

Lloyds TSB refused to comment, saying the robbery was a police matter.

Mr Morton said the robbers were believed to have got away in a dark-coloured Volkswagen Golf and a silver Vauxhall Zafira, possibly driven by two accomplices.

He added one of the cars went in the direction of the city centre while the other went north, but it was unclear which car went which way.

Police are also keen to speak to anyone who saw two cars matching that description together later in the day.

Anyone with any information should contact the police on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.