Ananova:

Police chiefs in China have been slammed for hiring actors to rob a bank as a training exercise - without telling anyone else.

Only the director and the deputy director of the Zhenzhou police department knew it was a drill - everyone else, including the bank, thought it was a real raid.

Four 'robbers' rushed into the Post Office Bank, disarmed security and demanded all the people inside drop to the floor. They even snatched a customer's bag containing £20,000, reports Guangzhou Daily.

Critics said police officers, unaware that it was a training drill, could easily have used their guns on the fleeing robbers.

They were also concerned about the psychological effect on bank cashiers and customers who had been put through a traumatic situation.

The four robbers ran out of the bank in four different directions. But within two hours, all had been caught by different police divisions in the city.

A police spokesman said later that police didn't have a preset plan for the drill and all timing, location, and method of robbery were decided on the spot.

"The goal was to test different divisions' reaction and coordination," he said.