Police dog tracks down knife-wielding man after raid on Mansfield pharmacy

Officers believe the man tried to gain entry into the Church Street pharmacy and threatened staff with a knife before punching the window and fleeing the scene.

Police say they swiftly arrived at about 5.30pm and the man was quickly detained by a police dog and his handler.

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The 37-year-old was arrested on suspicion of possession of a bladed article and racially aggravated public order offences.

Sgt Lee Mulligan of Nottinghamshire Police, said: "Our response teams quickly attended the scene at around 5.30pm on Friday in Church Street in Mansfield Woodhouse and brought the incident to a safe conclusion.

"The incident was immediately investigated resulting in a man being brought into custody.

"Pharmacy workers have often been at the frontline during the pandemic, ensuring that everyone was still able to get the essentials they rely on.

“It’s awful that anyone is threatened, but for key workers to threatened with violence when they are just doing their jobs is horrible.

"This serves as a stark reminder of the challenges faced by key workers during this pandemic and the fact that they put themselves at risk in order to serve the public and protect the NHS.

"To experience threatening behaviour when you are trying to help people and just do your job is completely unacceptable and something that we treat with the utmost severity."

The same surgery was broken into on February 21 when a set of keys taken. The man was also arrested on suspicion of burglary and he remains in police custody.