Brave worker foils Post Office raiders

[TrueBlueTerrier]

http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk/news/4 ... e_raiders/

A QUICK-THINKING post mistress whose actions foiled armed raiders has been praised by detectives.

The manager of the subpost office in Trimdon Station, near Sedgefield, County Durham, was working alone on Tuesday afternoon when two masked men burst in.

One of the men was armed with a long-barrelled weapon, thought to be a shotgun.

The pair demanded the woman open the security barrier to let them behind the counter but she dived to the floor, hit the panic alarm and then ignored their demands to open up.

The duo fled the premises empty-handed at about 5pm.

Police said the raiders made their getaway in a dark green Vauxhall Vectra, which was found abandoned and on fire a short time later at nearby Wingate Nature Reserve.

Acting Detective Inspector Paul Colling said: “There is no doubting the manageress’ refusal to respond in very difficult circumstances to the threats and demands of the would-be robbers meant they got nothing from their raid.”

One of the raiders is described as 6ft, of medium build and wearing an orange fluorescent Post Office jacket.

His accomplice, described as 5ft 5in and with a stocky to fat build, was wearing a green fluorescent jacket.

Det Insp Colling said: “We would like to hear from anyone who may have seen the robbers immediately before of after the raid.

“And we would also like to urge members of the public and people running commercial premises to ring us immediately if they spot anyone acting suspiciously or behaving unusually.

“At this time of year, there are, perhaps, more inviting targets than usual for opportunist thieves.”

A man was arrested at his home in Trimdon Station immediately after the incident, on Tuesday, but was quickly eliminated from the inquiry and released without charge.

On Monday, December 8, two masked men threatened the postmaster at nearby Wingate Post Office with a shotgun and made off with an undisclosed amount of money.

A police spokesmen said that at this stage a link between the two incidents could not be ruled out and renewed an appeal for information about both.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Durham Police on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.