A thief armed with a gun carried out two robberies in a single night and made off with more than £1000.

He stole cash from a William Hill in East Kilbride at around 9.30pm on Friday, then carried out a similar robbery at a Spar in Stonehouse, South Lanarkshire.

Nobody was injured in either of the robberies, which occurred less than half an hour apart.

The gun was not fired, police said, and the man was seen leaving the Spar in a white Volkswagen Golf.

He covered his face with a scarf but was described as being in his mid-20s and around 5ft 8in tall.

He was wearing a black top, black jogging bottoms and black trainers.

Detective constable Martin McKissock added: "I am appealing to anyone who was in and around these areas last night to think back and consider if they saw anything suspicious.

"Perhaps you saw the man dressed all in black and carrying a scarf and wondered why he was dressed in such a way given the warm weather we are currently experiencing.

"Any small piece of information could prove significant in our enquiries."