Detectives investigating two attempted armed robberies in Chippenham have released a CCTV image appealing for the public’s help to identify the individuals.

At around 4:10pm on Thursday August 8, police received a report that a male had entered the MS2 store in Greenway Lane and pulled a small knife from his pocket.

He demanded the shop worker to hand over the contents of the till, however the male was disturbed by a witness and left the store empty-handed.

Approximately 20 minutes later, officers received a second report about a similar incident at the One Stop shop on Sheldon Road, where a male with a knife was demanding money, but fled empty-handed again. 

Sgt Jamie Ball said: "We understand these incidents will no doubt cause concern within our communities. Please be reassured that reports of this nature are very rare here in Chippenham, however, we are conducting an extensive enquiry to identify the person responsible."

A CCTV image has been released while detectives continue their enquiries and they would like to speak to the male pictured in connection with these incidents.

They ask anyone with information to call 101 and quote crime reference number 54240093203, or call CrimeStoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.