A Beechworth service station attendant has been charged over reporting a false armed hold-up.

Local police were called in to investigate the incident early yesterday morning.

A 54-year-old Wooragi man had told police, two men armed with a handgun went into the High Street petrol station where he worked and threatened him before making off with a substantial amount of cash.

Police say the man later admitted that he made the story up as local officers waited for detectives from the Armed Offenders Squad in Melbourne to join the investigation.

The man has been charged with theft and making a false report to police.

He was granted bail and is due to face the Wodonga Magistrates Court in July.