Aussie man charged with robbing Thai bank for plane ticket home

An Australian man has been charged after allegedly robbing a Bangkok bank to pay for a plane ticket home after blowing all his cash in the city's red-light district.

Thai police allege Zachary Cronin, 23, ran into the Thanachart bank on Monday morning and yelled "money" while wearing a Guy Fawkes mask and goggles and pointing a BB gun, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.

He then ran off with $6600 in Thai baht, with the robbery taking just 12 seconds, they said.

An off-duty policeman, who was a customer in the bank at the time, and a security guard chased Mr Cronin into a dead end street, where he was detained.

Mr Cronin reportedly told police he had spent all his money during a month-long stay in Bangkok's Nana red-light district.

"The suspect wanted to use the money to buy a plane ticket back to Australia," police spokesman Gen Sanit said.

He was charged with robbery and faces up to 10 years jail.

No date has been set for his court appearance.