Detectives hunting the Flat Cap Robber - who is believed to have held up building societies in Keighley and Skipton - have arrested a man, it was revealed today.

Staffordshire police said the 53-year-old was detained at an address in the Midlands.

A spokesman said he was being held at a police station in Staffordshire on suspicion of being involved in a number of armed robberies - 34 in all.

The arrested man was being questioned this afternoon, said Detective Inspector Pat Corfield, who has spearheaded the inquiry, codenamed Operation Tornado.

The arrest follows a nationwide publicity campaign to catch the thief -Britain's most-wanted armed robber - who is thought to have netted more than £30,000 .Last month police produced a life-size cardboard cut-out of the pint-sized raider in a bid to establish his identity.

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