BY LAUREN FREEMANTLE

A 35-year-old man has been arrested and held on multiple charges following an armed robbery in Abermain on Monday.

Police arrested the man at around 5pm yesterday after stopping a vehicle on Victory Parade, Jesmond.

It follows his alleged involvement in a break-and-enter at Abermain bowling club on Monday evening.

It is alleged the arrested man and another man forced their way into the bowling club, armed with a shortened firearm and sledge hammer, and approached a female employee before binding her hands and feet with duct tape. They then proceeded to ransack the premises, fleeing in a stolen vehicle with a large sum of cash.

Police attended the bowling club, where they untied the woman and established a crime scene. A stolen vehicle was found burnt-out in a nearby street.

The man has been charged with armed robbery, damage to property by fire and driving while disqualified.

He is also facing larceny charges relating to an incident on Sunday 11th June at a hardware store at Taylors Beach.

Investigations into the robbery continue, whilst the man has been refused bail and will appear at Newcastle Local Court today.