Lunch time robbers have struck for a second time in two months snatching more than £25,000 at knifepoint outside a Kew bank.

On Tuesday, June 27, at about 12.10pm police were called to outside Barclays Bank where a Securicor van had been making its cash drop.

The guard was at the rear of the van in Station Approach waiting for the first box to be passed out when a silver Volvo estate pulled alongside.

He was approached from behind by an Asian man who brandished a four-inch knife and shouted "Give me the box".

The security guard handed over the cash box and the male got into his car and drove off towards Mortlake, up High Park Road.

The empty box and the vehicle believed to have been used in the robbery were later found nearby.

The suspect is described as 25-years-old with a black beard and wearing a dark woolly hat, light brown jacket and dark blue jeans.

This is the second incident of its kind in Kew this year. On April 11 at about 12.45pm, a Securicor guard was attacked with a cattle prod and struck on the head as he tried to deliver cash again to Barclays.

The suspect was described as a white European, 5ft 6ins, wearing a dark woolly hat, an off white zip up jacket and of heavy build.

A spokesman for G4S Cash Services, the company in charge of Securicor, confirmed that two guards were involved in the incident on Tuesday but were not injured and that it followed an incident in April.

He added: "It is reflective of a broader national trend of attacks against the cash-in-transit industry. We are working closely with the police to address the specific threat to our couriers and members of the public in Kew."

Following the latest incident Kew councillor Serge Lourie said: "I think it is shocking that there has been a security van robbery on our doorstep. CCTV cameras cover Kew village and we will work with the police in anyway we can."

Police are not linking the two incidents and do not believe the area is being targeted.

Anyone with information should contact Barnes Flying Squad on 020 8247 7887.