Police were called to the Pizza Hut restaurant in the US state of New Jersey early on Friday morning, News12 reports.

Employee Joseph Baude told officers that he had fought off an armed robber who left the restaurant empty-handed, but police reviewed CCTV footage and couldn’t find any evidence of a crime.

After questioning, Baude allegedly admitted to officers that he made up the incident – which led to 26 officers searching the local neighbourhood for two hours – in a bid to get a raise.

He has now been charged with creating a false alarm and filing a false report to police and is awaiting trial.