A knife-point robber claimed he had come to ‘collect a debt’ as he threatened staff at a store in Cheltenham before making off with thousands of pounds.

The man, who had a six-inch knife, walked into JDL Hydroponics in The Runnings, at the Kingsditch Industrial Estate, and demanded to be paid £1,200.

He was abusive and threatening, claiming that he'd been sent to collect a debt.

The member of staff working there at the time had no idea what the man was talking about.

The offender then went behind the counter and helped himself to several thousand pounds from a cash tin.

He then left the premises, leaving the staff member very shaken and upset.

JDL Hydroponics in Cheltenham
JDL Hydroponics in Cheltenham
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The incident happened just before 5pm last Friday, May 19.

The suspect is described as being of mixed race, and thick set with a shaven head.

He spoke with a Birmingham accent and was wearing a light-coloured top with grey-tracksuit bottoms.

A police spokesman said: “It was going-home time for a lot of local businesses at the industrial estate, and we would hope someone might have seen the suspect either arriving or running from the store.”

Anyone with information is asked to call 101, quoting incident 345 of 19/5/17.