A MAN will appear in court charged with robbery after a syringe-weilding thug threatened staff in a pharmacy.

Jason Aldis, unemployed, of Berberis Walk, Colchester, was charged with two counts of robbery and possession with intent to supply class A drugs.

Aldis, 31, was set to appear at Chelmsford Magistrates' Court today.

The charges come following an incident in Boots Pharmacy, in Tamarisk Way, Greenstead, Colchester, at 4.50pm on Saturday, April 22.

A 34-year-old man, from Colchester, arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods and possession of drugs has been released under investigation.

A man entered the Boots branch just before 5pm on Saturday and demanded prescription drugs.

The suspect, who was holding a hypodermic needle, left with a quantity of medication.

The next day, just after 7.10am, a man threatened a staff member with a needle at Martins newsagents at the Fivefields Centre in Greenstead.

He demanded money and tobacco, which was handed over, and he also took e-cigarettes and confectionery.

Nobody was hurt in the incidents but staff were left shaken.

Police carried out a search of the area, and house to house enquiries, which led them to an address in Berberis Walk, Colchester, just before 9am on Sunday.

There they found three men unwell – one of them unconscious – and called paramedics.

Two of the men were arrested.