outside a hotel by a man wielding a knife.

The man came up on them from behind and demanded money as they walked down the steps towards the Sonesta Beach Hotel at about 9.40 p.m. on Friday, Police said.

"The husband of this couple managed to talk the suspect out of it,'' Sgt.

Roseanda Jones of Police Community and Media Relations said in a news release.

"He eventually fled without robbing or harming the visitors.'' Police would not say how the man persuaded the suspect to change his mind about the robbery, other than that he may have "confused'' his assailant.

The would-be robber is described as five feet, nine inches tall, about 140 pounds and in his mid-20s. He had dark brown skin and wore a blue thigh-length coat with dark trousers.

Anyone who saw a person fitting this description near the Sonesta, the Henry VIII Restaurant, or along South Road in Southampton is asked to contact Det.

Chief Insp. Carlton Adams at 295-0011.

In other Police news from the weekend: An investigation of animal cruelty was launched after Police found an under-nourished female pit bull at a home on Khyber Heights Road in Warwick.

The reddish-brown dog was about 11 pounds under weight, Police said. They visited the residence on Saturday afternoon after receiving a call from Insp.

Louis Ray of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

A 32-year-old Pembroke man was arrested after Police received a report of a sexual assault on an eight-year-old girl early on Saturday night.

Narcotics officers seized "a substantial amount of controlled drug believed to be cannabis'' on Curving Avenue in Pembroke on Friday night. No arrests were made.

Two Pembroke men, aged 28 and 33, were arrested with small amounts of suspected cocaine. One man had a large amount of cash which was also seized.

A small amount of suspected cocaine was seized on Somerset Road near Royal Naval Field in Sandys at about 4 p.m. on Friday. Two Sandys men aged 31 and 32 were arrested for trespassing.

A 48-year-old visitor was arrested at the Civil Air Terminal on Friday afternoon after a small amount of suspected cannabis was found in his possession.

Six people between 12 and 19 years old were arrested for shoplifting during a three-hour stretch at a store on Reid Street in Hamilton.