Derek Brockwell capture: Pharmacy staff tell of knife ordeal

Staff at a pharmacy Derek Brockwell is suspected of robbing at knife point have described their ordeal.

A man held up Urban Pharmacy on Belfast’s Dublin Road around 6pm last night.

Cliff McElhinney, outside the Urban Pharmacy outlet where he works.

Glaswegian Brockwell, who was arrested at a pub around 200 yards away later in the evening, is being held on suspicion of the crime and an attempted armed robbery at another shop close by.

Cliff McElhinney, who works at the pharmacy, said the individual who threatened staff had been in the shop five hours earlier to seek treatment for a hand wound.

“He presented with a wound on his hand, so we sorted him out with dressings and stuff and he had gone on his way,” he said.

“He came back into the shop at 6pm. Different staff were on duty at that stage. He had picked up a product just off the shelf and had come down to the counter to pay for it.

“As the member of staff took that from him and went to ring it through the till he produced a knife.

“He held the second member of staff and put the knife to his back, having shown everyone he had a knife and intent. He then asked the pharmacist to give him the takings from the till.”

It is understood the raider made off with about £60.

“No one was physically injured, but obviously the two members of staff directly involved, plus the other members of staff who were in the shop and aware of what was going were obviously visibly shaken,” said Mr McElhinney.

He praised staff for dealing with the robbery in a professional manner.

“The staff followed procedure to the letter, they remained calm and dealt with the situation as they should have done,” he said.

Derek Brockwell