Lloyds customer angry after 'bomb scare' in Southampton branch

But Lloyds has said colleagues immediately followed its security procedures and quickly identified the owner.

Martin Rosamond refused to step foot in another Lloyds branch after staff picked up the unattended bag rather than evacuating the building.

He said: “This is what happened when the bombings in London happened. If that was a bomb I could have been dead."

The 54-year-old was queueing at the Lloyds Bank in Above Bar Street when he noticed a small white rucksack had been left on a seat.

Martin Rosamond, 54 outside Lloyds Bank branch on Above Bar Street (Image: Newsquest)The security guard of 28 years claimed one of the managers went to grab the bag and he quickly stepped in, concerned it could contain an explosive device.

"I said to him 'What are you doing? Are you stupid?," the Bitterne resident said.

“What would he have done if when he had picked it up, the bag had blown up? He would have been fired.

"Well, he wouldn’t - because he would be dead."

He went on to say: "I don't normally swear but I was so angry at the manager.

“I have been doing counter-terrorism training for my job and that is what we get taught to do.

“If you get an unattended bag, you don't ignore it, you get all the staff and get the people out of the building."

According to Martin, after their exchange the manager took the bag out the back of the branch so he left the store, concerned for his own safety.

He called the bank's customer service line about what he perceived as the poor handling of the incident, but claimed “they didn’t care about it”.

His next port of call was to dial 999, and was told it was not an emergency matter.

He said: “I turned around to them and said it would have been an emergency if it had blown up."

Martin is worried that there is not enough awareness about safety measures when it comes to dealing with possible explosives and wants security protocol in banks tightened.

Since the incident on Wednesday, September 13, the father-of-four said he now only uses the cash points outside the branch because 'I don’t trust them going in'.

In response, a Lloyds Bank spokesperson said that after the bag was found, 'colleagues immediately followed security procedures'.

At the same time, the branch received a phone call from a customer to say they had just accidentally left the bag behind, allowing staff to 'quickly identify the owner' and move the bag somewhere secure.

The spokesperson added: “The safety of our colleagues and customers is our priority and we treat reports of anything suspicious in our branches very seriously. All colleagues are trained to follow our well-established security procedures.”