POLICE have released a CCTV image of a man they want to speak to after an attempted robbery at a post office.

The suspect went into the post office inside WHSmith in Churchill Square, Brighton, yesterday just after 5.10pm and passed a note over the counter demanding that the cashier hand over money.

The note said that he had a weapon and would hurt people.

When the cashier refused, he made the same threats verbally.

The suspect ran off empty handed when the quick witted member of staff refused to hand over any cash from the till and told him the police had been notified.

The suspect is white, 5ft 8in and has a full beard.

He was wearing a blue baseball cap, dark glasses, dark Nike trainers with a white tick on the side, red jogging bottoms and a white T-shirt with dark stripes.

He had skin-coloured tape across his nose and multi-coloured tape around the lower parts of each finger between the two knuckles, possibly to cover up tattoos.

Detective Constable Chris Clarke said: "If you recognise this man please let us know and we would also like to hear from any witnesses who saw this man in the area of WHSmith or Western Road around this time to come forward."

If you have any information about the incident, you can contact police online or call 101 quoting serial 1067 of 16/04.