PHUKET: Phuket police believe time is running out for the would-be robber who failed to get into a Phuket bank before it closed for business on Monday.

Just like a customer desperate to pay an urgent bill, he turned up at the Kasikorn Bank in Phuket City seconds after the doors closed at 3.30pm for the day.

The man who wanted to make a late withdrawal was different to most customers in that he had what appeared to be a row of bombs strapped to his vest.

Today police found the fake cylindrical bombs, discovered by locals in scrub at Cape Nga, an isolated part of Koh Sireh, the island east of Phuket City.

Phuket Police Commander Major General Pekad Tantipoong went to the scene as bomb disposal experts were able to report that the would-be bank robber's impressive bombs were never going to explode.

The man, captured by security camera footage, turned up at the bank on a motorcycle taxi on Monday to find the bank's doors just locked and staff reluctant to open them.

Perhaps he thought it was one of those banks that stays open until 4pm?

Rebuffed, the 'I have a bomb' bandit ''borrowed'' a motorcycle from a woman outside the bank and has not been seen since.

Cape Nga, with a small creamy beach, is destined for development in the near future by a large international resort brand. For now it's an isolated local picnic spot.