A man has made off with a quantity of cash following a robbery at a High Street bank in Great Dunmow.
The suspect entered TSB at around 2.45pm today.
He threatened staff before leaving with the money.
Essex Police have not yet revealed an estimate for how much money was stolen.
No-one has been injured in the incident.
Detectives are appealing for information around the robbery.
The man involve has been described as around 6ft tall, of large build, wearing a mask and a light grey hooded top with tassles and a white zip, blue jeans, black shoes and black leather gloves.
He was also carrying a white carrier bag.
Staff at Ropers The Chemist in Dunmow nearby said they heard the police helicopter overhead.
An employee, who did not want to be named, said: “We saw the police cars, there must have been about four or five of them.
“We then heard the helicopter circling above. There was a man directing officers on the other side of the street, I don’t know if he saw the man or not.”
Anyone with any information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.
It is the second bank robbery in Dunmow High Street in less than a year, after the a security van driver running cash to the now-closed HSBC branch was robbed at gunpoint in June last year.
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