Police have released CCTV footage of a knife-wielding robber who targeted a south London pharmacy last year.

The suspect entered a Thomas James Chemists, on Durnsford Road, Wimbledon at about 3.15pm on October 13, 2015 and pulled out a large kitchen knife, the Metropolitan Police revealed yesterday (February 25).

He demanded money, forcing his victim to open the pharmacy’s till and petty cash box, police said. He then left the pharmacy in the direction of Haydens Road with a quantity of cash, police said.

The pharmacy's manager Sopheak Lim told C+D a locum pharmacist had been working in the store along with a pre-registration pharmacist. The robber first entered the pharmacy "in a very suspicious way" about half an hour before the incident, he said.

The individual returned with a knife and threatened the locum, forcing her to the back of the dispensary, Mr Lim said.

"All the time he had a knife in his hand pointing towards her. So [the locum] was really scared,” he said.

"Devastated"

Mr Lim said the locum was "devastated" by the incident. "We couldn’t believe it. We get a few small incidences [such as shoplifting], but not an armed robbery. It was the first in our company's history...it was quite a shock to all of us,” he added.

The robber is described as a black man in his late 20s or early 30s. He wore a blue hooded tracksuit and white trainers and carried a black holdall, police said.

Anyone with any information about the incident should call police on 101, or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 08500 555 111, quoting reference 203621, Metropolitan Police added.

How can pharmacists protect themselves from crime?

We want to hear your views, but please express them in the spirit of a constructive, professional debate. For more information about what this means, please click here to see our community principles and information