Masked raiders strike Trimdon Station post office (From The Northern Echo)

Masked raiders strike Trimdon Station post office

12:19pm Wednesday 24th December 2008

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A QUICK thinking Post Office worker, whose actions foiled armed raiders in County Durham late yesterday afternoon, has been praised by detectives.

The woman, the manageress, was working alone behind the counter of the Post Office in Trimdon Station just after 5pm yesterday when two masked men burst in, one of them armed with a long barrelled weapon thought to be a shotgun.

"There is no doubting the manageress's refusal to respond in very difficult circumstances to the threats and demands of the would-be robbers meant they got nothing from their raid,"

Act Det Insp Paul Colling.

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 them ignored all their overtures to open up.

The result was the duo fled the premises empty-handed.

The raiders made their getaway in a dark green Vauxhall Vectra which was found abandoned and in flames a short time later on land at the nearby Wingate Nature Reserve.

"There is no doubting the manageress's refusal to respond in very difficult circumstances to the threats and demands of the would-be robbers meant they got nothing from their raid," said Act Det Insp Paul Colling.

One of the raiders is described as 6' tall of medium build and was wearing an orange fluorescent Post Office jacket. His accomplice, described as 5'5" and of stocky to fat build, was wearing a green fluorescent jacket.

In the immediate aftermath of the raid a man was arrested at his house in Trimdon Station but was quickly eliminated from the inquiry and released without charge.

"We would like to hear from anyone who might 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," added Det Insp Colling.

Anyone with information is asked to ring the police non-emergency number on 0345-6060365 or anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.

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