Woman in her 40s dies after robbery at Yorkshire PO

[TrueBlueTerrier]

A woman in her 40s has died after an apparent robbery at a village post office in North Yorkshire this morning.

The woman was identified locally as Diane Garbutt, who ran the Melsonby Post Office and Village Shop, near Richmond, with husband Robin.

She was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance staff shortly after the incident which took place at around 8.30am

A North Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: 'Police were called by the ambulance service to the sudden death of a woman in her 40s at a property in Melsonby this morning.

'The woman was pronounced dead at the scene by ambulance staff.'

Details of how the woman died are unknown at present.

The spokesperson added: 'Police are carrying out a detailed examination of the scene to establish the exact circumstances surrounding her death, this will include speaking to witnesses at the scene of the incident.

'The road leading to the property has been closed and is expected to remain closed for at least 24 hours.'

Inspector Ian Thompson, from Richmond police station, said: 'It has been reported to us as a robbery.

'We've done some initial house to house inquiries and we are now waiting for CID to arrive.

'No arrests have been made.'

The incident comes almost a year to the day after armed robbers raided the post office in the village, which has an estimated population of 800.

On March 17 last year two armed robbers threatened the sub-postmaster with a handgun and escaped with cash.

Following the previous incident, Bill Nixon, who owns Nixon’s Garage situated across the road from the post office, said: 'It’s very shocking, because for many years Melsonby has been such a peaceful place, with hardly any crime.

'However, in the last two or three years that has started to change, which is a real shame.'

As the previous incident also took place on a Tuesday morning at 8.30am, many locals are convinced this was a repeat crime.

One villager said: 'I can't believe it.'

Another resident added: 'At about 8.30am all the kids go off to school and the village goes really quiet. They were probably sat watching and waiting.'


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... z0j0eTmhV1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;