A man who allegedly attempted to hold up a Sydney pharmacy but was beaten off by female staff members wielding walking sticks has been charged over the attack.
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The 59-year-old man was arrested at a home on Bradman Street in Merrylands on Thursday and charged over the botched robbery at Birrong Pharmacy on Tuesday afternoon.
Police will allege in court that the man entered the Auburn Road pharmacy about 4.30pm armed with a sharpened wooden skewer and approached the female pharmacy owner, who was standing at the prescription desk at the rear of the shop.
He allegedly assaulted the woman, before a male customer intervened and attempted to disarm him.
Three staff members, all older women, then grabbed walking sticks from the pharmacy shelves and started beating the intruder.
The alleged offender punched the male customer before running from the pharmacy empty handed, police say.
Another customer chased the man, who was last seen getting into a black vehicle about 400 metres away from the pharmacy, near Birrong Boys High School.
Following the attack, one of the female staff members, Eileen, described how she and her colleagues had attempted to stop the robbery.
"I ran out, then I looked in here and saw Ally [the pharmacy owner] being threatened and Helen [another worker] having a go with a walking stick, so I pressed the emergency button then I grabbed a walking stick and I had a go," she said at the time.
"We're tough old girls."
The man arrested on Thursday was taken to Parramatta Police Station and charged with assault with intent to rob while armed with an offensive weapon, assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and possessing a prohibited drug.
He was refused police bail and is due to appear at Parramatta Local Court on Friday.
