Mall evacuated after robbery at jewellery store

The police are at the scene of a robbery at a mall jewellery store in Bay of Plenty this afternoon.

Officers were called to a Michael Hill store in the Bayfair Shopping Centre about 3pm.

A police spokesperson said the store's fog cannon was set off and the offenders fled the scene in a vehicle, later found abandoned on Alverstoke Street.

The spokesperson said the fog cannon triggered the fire alarm, forcing shoppers to evacuate the mall during the incident.