ALL Bank of Ireland staff members have been supplied with a freephone emergency telephone number to dial in case they are caught up in a socalled 'tiger' kidnapping.

The Sunday Tribune understands that all of the bank's 6,500 branch employees have been issued with the number following the kidnapping of a worker during which Euro500,000 was handed over to a gang of criminals.

The 1800 number immediately alerts gardaí and senior management that a kidnap is underway, and employees have been advised to save it in their mobile phones.

The increased security measures come as senior gardaí fear that petty criminals will begin to carry out kidnappings because of the perception that they are relatively easy to get away with.

Other banks are expected to follow suit after the huge increase in workers being targeted by gangs. Gardaí estimate that about half-a-dozen gangs are involved in carrying out such kidnappings.

All Bank of Ireland workers received security training following the kidnapping of the assistant manager of the Balbriggan branch on 1 February.

He was held along with his wife and two sons at their home in Swords and ordered to go to work as normal and withdraw half-a-million euro.

He was then forced to drive to a collection point in Malahide, where he deposited the money. His family were later released in Oldbridge, Co Meath. Gardaí were quickly alerted to the incident and arrested two people in Julianstown, Co Meath. It is thought that the family were under surveillance for up to two weeks.

Management at Bank of Ireland sees the freephone number as an effective way to immediately alert the authorities to a developing security incident, giving the gardaí an improved chance of catching those responsible.

During one raid last year, the bank involved did not inform gardaí that one of its employees had been kidnapped until several hours after the money was handed over.

Workers are being advised to store the number on their mobile phones, although victims of kidnappings are not expected to dial it themselves.

When they are ordered to go to a branch to collect a ransom, their colleagues who take the money from the safe are expected to immediately ring the hotline.

The number connects directly to gardaí at Harcourt Square, who then notify a number of agencies including the Special Branch, local district detective units and the Nation-