increase in heroin use on the Island.

Acting Assistant Commissioner Wayne Perinchief believes drug addicts desperate for a "fix'' are willing to go to any lengths to get cash, using knives and, in a few cases, guns.

If they cannot pay for their heroin they face painful withdrawal symptoms.

The number of armed robberies over the past three months has already doubled the figures for the same period last year.

That figure reached 14 on Tuesday evening when four visitors were robbed at gunpoint by a masked man close to the Southampton Princess Hotel.

All part of a business convention at the hotel, the two couples were walking in the tunnel near the Whaler Inn.

The two men handed over wallets containing a total of $200, credit cards and personal papers. One of the women was deprived of an expensive ring which was later recovered near the scene.

None of the victims was injured in incident but members of the convention said they were shocked.

Mr. Perinchief said the use of a gun was very worrying. He described the robber as five foot, eight inches, weighing around 160 to 170 pounds and of medium build. He was wearing an olive green combat jacket and pants, black boots and black gloves. His head was covered with a rubber Hallowe'en type mask.

His motorbike was a red V50 or V70, step-through model. It had a basket on the back.

Mr. Perinchief said he was concerned over the increase in robberies which have risen from 10 in the first quarter of 1992 and seven in the first three months of 1993.

So far in 1994 there have been three robberies involving firearms, one attempted robbery and one incidents of shots being fired in a private house.

He said the latest of these "alarming incidents'' was another in a string of robberies of visitors. He said it was concerning because the Country depends on looking after its visitors.

Mr. Perinchief said: "Looking at the profile of the people arrested and those suspected of these crimes, we are talking basically about young males involved in drug use. I think they are desperate for ready cash. I think all the perpetrators are seeking drugs.

"I know definitely that there is an alarming increase in the use of heroin, similar to the late 70s when it was rampant. It has again become the drug of choice.

"Heroin withdrawal can be excruciatingly painful. We have seen examples of this in the cells. People want to avoid the withdrawal and so they are desperate to get the drug.'' One encouraging statistic is that many of the perpetrators of robberies have been caught by the Police. But Mr. Perinchief stressed: "Some of these people are quite blatant about the robberies because they are desperate.

"They do not even disguise their identities and often rob people who know them quite well. A lot of it is opportunistic.'' The Police Crime Prevention Unit has prepared a leaflet on robbery prevention aimed at home owners.

A woman claims she had to leap from a second-storey window to escape a man who was sexually assaulting her.

The 26-year-old said she had been sexually assaulted by a man in a disused building in Devonshire.

Police spokesman P.c. Gary Venning said: "She required hospital treatment for serious leg and facial injuries after she, apparently, jumped out of a second storey window in order to make her escape.'' Police are investigating the report which allegedly took place on Wednesday evening.