Armed robbery in the city centre

Sussex Police are investigating a robbery and an attempted robbery in Brighton on Wednesday [03 April] when victims were threatened with a handgun. Police said the incidents occurred within an hour of each other.

In both cases the main suspect is described as a white man approximately 1.75m tall with facial hair and head hair cut short at the sides. He was wearing a baseball cap and a black coat or jacket with a fur hood, and sunglasses.

No one was hurt in either case and no arrests have been made. Sussex Police said: "The first incident was reported at around 21:20 in Bartholomew Square, Brighton. Two brothers from the united Arab Emirates aged 18 and 19 were confronted by the robber who pointed a pistol at them and demanded they hand over their possessions. These included bags, mobile phones, wallets, shoes and clothing.

Police said: "On this occasion the suspect, who made racist remarks towards his victims, was accompanied by a black man - tall, in his 20s and wearing a black hooded jacket - and an Asian man in his late 20s wearing a black coat.

The second incident was an attempted robbery at 22:20 on the lower promenade near Brighton Pier when the victim was threatened with a handgun but nothing was taken. The suspect, who was alone, closely matched the description of the main offender in the earlier incident.

Detective Sergeant Joe Jardine of Brighton Police, said: "High visibility patrols have been deployed in the area and officers are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen what happened in either case, who noticed anything suspicious or who may have relevant dash-cam or closed circuit television [CCTV] footage."

Anyone with information shoudl contact police online with the reference 47190053298.