A man has been charged following an armed robbery at a Co-op store in the Scottish Borders last week (28 January).

The incident happened at the store on Roxburgh Street in the town of Kelso at around 10:55pm on 28 January.

A man entered the store wielding a knife at a member of staff, before stealing three bottles of whisky and a quantity of cigarettes.

According to police, a 26-year-old has been arrested and held in custody to appear at Jedburgh Sheriff Court.

Detective sergeant from Galashiels CID, Callum Peoples, said: “We recognised the impact this robbery had on the local community within Kelso and a thorough investigation was conducted, culminating in this arrest.

“Crimes of this nature will not be tolerated and whenever they occur we will utilise all resources at our disposal to bring those responsible to justice.”

The incident followed a number of recent armed robberies across the UK, including a knife-point robbery in a c-store in Walkers Heath, Birmingham and a violent robbery at Frenches Convenience Store in Redhill, Surrey.

Home Office minister Victoria Atkins recently proposed a package of measures to help tackle violent retail crime against retail staff, calling for evidence on violence and abuse towards shop workers; funding to raise awareness of existing legislation in place to protect shop workers; and refreshing the work of the National Retail Crime Steering Group to focus exclusively on violence and abuse.