Raider escapes with cash following Belfast armed robbery

Detectives are hunting a man who robbed a butchers and a pharmacy at knifepoint in west Belfast.

Detectives are hunting a man who robbed a butchers and a pharmacy at knifepoint in west Belfast.

The suspect escaped with cash following the raids, which took place just 15 minutes apart.

Police said a butcher shop on the Springfield Road was targeted by a man wielding a large knife around 4pm yesterday afternoon.

He threatened staff and demanded money before he escaped in a blue estate car.

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A short time later a similar armed heist was staged at a chemist on the Whiterock Road. The culprit escaped on foot in the direction of the Falls Road.

No one was injured during the incidents.

A PSNI spokeswoman said the man was wearing a waist-length dark coat with the collar turned up and a black beanie hat.