Sussex Police arrested a man at the weekend on suspicion of two counts of robbery of a Boots pharmacy and a branch of Kamsons.

The force made the arrest on Saturday after receiving reports the 42-year-old had gone into the pharmacies telling staff he had a knife and demanding drugs.

He left the Boots store in Eastbourne Road, Pevensey, empty-handed after being challenged by a customer but fled from the Kamsons pharmacy in Victoria Avenue, Eastbourne, with medicines.

Sussex Police said nobody was hurt but are appealing for witnesses to come forward.

“Whilst we understand that incidents like this are traumatic for staff, we have made numerous visits to pharmacies in the area to provide additional crime prevention advice and reassurance,” said chief inspector Andy Nicklin. “We have worked hard to quickly identify the suspect and promptly make an arrest.”

Sussex Police urged witnesses to contact it online or call 101 quoting serial 901 of 27/04.