Surrey Police detectives have released two CCTV images of a man they would like to speak to in connection with an armed robbery at a bookmakers in Redhill earlier this week.

The incident took place at around 2.25pm on Tuesday, 1st January at the Ladbrokes bookmakers on Brighton Road in Salfords.

A man entered the betting shop and walking straight up to the front counter where he pulled what is believed to be a silver handgun out of a bag he was carrying and threatened a member of staff.

The member of a staff, a man in his forties, refused requests from the man to open the till behind the counter and the robber quickly left the scene on foot.

The robber is described as a white man in his forties, who spoke with an English accent and was wearing a blue top and had his face covered with a black hat and what is believed to be a scarf.

Officers quickly attended the location and despite a thorough search of the surrounding area and extensive house to house enquiries the offender has yet to be located.

Following the incident Scene of Crime Officers (SOCO) have carried out a forensic examination of the bookmakers and police are reviewing local CCTV footage.

Detective Sergeant Jules Knowles said: "This was a planned offence where a desperate and dangerous offender has threatened an innocent member of staff with what his believed to be a firearm.

"Fortunately the suspect walked away empty handed and no one was injured but this must have been a terrifying experience for the member of staff and clearly we need to track down the individual responsible as soon as possible.

"This offence took place in a busy area in broad daylight so the suspect was clearly prepared to take great risks to get what he wanted.

"As part of our enquiries we have released several CCTV images of a man we would like to speak to as we feel he may be able to provide vital information to assist with this ongoing investigation.

"I would urge anyone who recognises the man shown in the CCTV images or who may have seen or heard anything out of the ordinary in or around Brighton Road at around 2.30pm today to contact police.

"Serious offences of this nature are rare in Surrey and I would like to assure Redhill residents that we are doing everything possible to bring the culprits to justice."

Anyone who witnessed the incident or with any information should call Surrey Police on 101, quoting reference RB/13/21, or call independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.