Detectives from the Geelong Crime Investigation Unit have charged a man in connection with an alleged armed robbery spree at three service stations within a three-hour period this afternoon in the Geelong area.

According to police reports, a man allegedly armed with a rock entered a service station on Shannon Avenue in Newtown shortly before 1pm and stole cash.

The same suspect is then alleged to have entered a service station on the Bellarine Highway in Newcomb, armed with a gardening spade, just before 2pm.

The spree continued at a service station on Torquay Road in Grovedale around 2:20pm, where cash was again stolen.

A 26-year-old man from Bellbrae has been charged with three counts of armed robbery and two counts of theft.

He has been remanded to appear at Geelong Magistrates’ Court tomorrow.