A patron at a Parramatta pub has been hospitalised following an alleged robbery in the toilet.
Emergency services were called around 11am Thursday to Parramatta’s Commercial Hotel, to reports of a robbery and injury to a man who was thought to have been struck with an axe.
The 37-year-old man was in the pub’s toilets when another man is thought to have approached him and demanded he hand over a poker machine payout ticket.
Refusing to relinquish his winnings, the man was allegedly struck in the face with an axe. The assailant also stole his wallet.
The man and a woman were reported to have fled the scene.
Paramedics treated the victim for facial wounds, thought to not be life-threatening, and he was taken to Westmead Hospital. He was admitted and reportedly in a stable condition today.
Police located and arrested a 28-year-old man and a 35-year-old woman nearby, a short time after the alleged assault. Both were taken to Parramatta police station.
The man was charged with robbery armed with an offensive weapon, causing wounds or grievous bodily harm, carrying maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. The woman was charged with accessory after the fact of an armed robbery.
Both were refused police bail and will face Parramatta Local Court.
Meanwhile, police are investing the potential connection of two armed robberies on Wednesday in Sydney’s inner west.
An armed man entered the Enfield Hotel around 8pm, demanding cash.
Shortly after, an armed man entered the Ashfield Hotel, around three kilometres west, and demanded cash.
No-one was injured in the robberies, but the bandit got away with a small amount of money.
Witnesses describe him as 175cm tall, with fair complexion, solid build and dark hair, wearing grey tracksuit pants, a blue jacket with white sleeves and a white surgical mask.
Police are still determining whether the two robberies involved the same person.
