A man with a knife approached a man and woman in their 70s in Durley Gardens at around 12.15pm on Thursday 26 January and showed a knife to the man before demanding money.

The victim did not hand anything over and the man left the scene in the direction of St Michael’s Road.

Officers attended and carried out a search of the area, but the offender was not located.

He is described as white, in his 40s, around five feet ten inches tall and clean shaven with short, sandy-coloured hair. He was wearing a long, dark-coloured knee-length coat, a beige or sandy-coloured hooded top and black trousers.

Police constable David Carmichael, of Bournemouth police, said: “This must have been a distressing incident for the couple, and we are carrying out a number of enquiries to identify the man responsible.

“I would urge any witnesses or anyone with information that might assist our enquiries to please contact us.

“I would also like to ask any motorists with dashcam who were in the vicinity, or residents with home CCTV or doorbell cameras, to please check their footage for anything of relevance.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police at www.dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55230013175. Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.