Robber steals £6,000 in raid on post office

Staff at a West Hampstead post office have told of their fear as a robber pushed a security guard delivering cash to the ground and snatched £6,000.

The attacker then escaped by fumbling his way through the automatic exit door.

Counter staff member Robert Rhein described how the raider came in to the post office at The Sherriff Centre, in St James Church, Sherriff Road around 3pm on January 11.

He said: “A Caucasian man with fair hair and wearing a scarf pushed over the security van driver while he was dropping off money to the post office.

“He waited for the driver to unlock the deposit box and then grabbed the money and ran.

“But he didn’t realise that there was a button to operate the automatic door so he prised the door open with his hands before running away with around £6,000.”

He told of the fear felt by customers and staff. “The driver was upset as well as a few customers, one of whom suffered shortness of breath,” he said.

Sherriff centre manager Jane Edwards, from West Hampstead, said there were around 20 people in the centre at the time.

She said: “I was in the office upstairs at the time. Obviously it was scary for staff, any incident like this is terrifying but luckily nobody was hurt. Unfortunately, this is what happens in post offices.”