Three Christchurch Westpac customers experienced an unexpectedly long visit to the branch after being trapped inside for nearly two hours.

A customer told chrislynchmedia.com that he was withdrawing money from the lobby machine at the Northlink branch when the doors locked behind him, leaving him and two others stranded inside at 2.40PM.

Despite the efforts of Armourguard and the police, the doors remained locked.

The customer expressed frustration with Westpac’s communication during the ordeal, saying, “We all started to get a bit anxious, and one woman was supposed to be visiting her grandchildren.”

All three customers contacted Westpac but were dissatisfied with the lack of clear communication.

The door was eventually unlocked at 4.30PM.

A Westpac NZ spokesperson said “a technical issue with our Papanui ATM lobby door caused three customers to become stuck inside at approximately 2.40pm.

“Our technicians and security staff responded quickly and were able to talk to the customers throughout, however it took until approximately 4.30pm to re-open the door.

“We’re sorry for the distress this has caused and we will be contacting the customers to ensure they are appropriately supported.

“We’re also investigating the cause of the issue.”A Westpac NZ spokesperson said.