West Hampstead’s Sherriff Centre Post Office burgled again with £6k taken

Police are investigating after a West Hampstead Post Office, based in the same building as a children’s creche and soft play area, was broken into for the second time in six months.

The burglary at the Sherriff Centre, on Sherriff Road, where up to £6000 was stolen, happened in the early hours of Tuesday morning and followed two break-in attempts on Monday evening.

In the first attempt, a group came into the centre wearing bike helmets before being disturbed by the cleaner. Later at 9.30pm, a group on motorbikes and wearing helmets forced open the door to the centre but fled when the alarm sounded.

Hours later, at 1am on Tuesday morning, four people broke into the centre’s post office through a window. They took between £5000-£6000 from tills before escaping on mopeds.

The Post Office is closed until further notice. CCTV is being examined by police. No arrests have been made.

The burglary follows an armed robbery at the centre in September 2017, where raiders with knives threatened staff and made off with cash.

Ms Edwards said security at the post office will be tightened following the latest burglary.

“Every time something like this happens, we tighten our procedures. We take this really seriously and we don’t sit here waiting for it to happen before we do so.

She also wanted to reassure people who use the centre. It is home to a children’s play area and creche, Hullabaloo. These services are still open.

The centre is now reviewing security.

Ms Edwards said: “We are returning to normal. We have more security than we have before, and are reviewing it. It’s still a great place for people to hang out.”