Post offices close in the wake of terrifying raid (From Gazette & Herald)

Post offices close in the wake of terrifying raid

THREE Ryedale villages are to lose their post offices in the wake of last week's raid on the Helmsley post office.

In each case, the operators of the post offices - at Nawton, Brandsby and Hovingham - made their decisions to quit because of fears over security.

Last Tuesday, at around 5.15pm, a gang of men used a chainsaw to break into Helmsley post office.

Earlier that day, at around 1.20am, three men had fled empty-handed from premises in Hovingham and police say the two incidents may be connected.

David Sell, postmaster at Hovingham, said that intruders smashed a bathroom window at his home before running off when the alarm went off.

He said he subsequently rang Helmsley postmaster Geoff Simpson to tell him what had happened and warned him to be on his guard.

Just an hour later, a gang raided Helmsley post office and beat up Mr Simpson.

Mr Sell, visibly shaken, said he was not prepared to risk the lives of his staff and had resigned with immediate effect.

At Nawton, mother-of-two Helen Greening, who has run the post office and stores with her mother Glad Savege since 2000, is also stepping down.

"We have made the decision. I am not prepared to carry on with the risk as it is," said Mrs Greening, who has two children, Charlie, aged two, and Alex, aged five, and whose husband Andrew is not involved in the post office.

"We have been thinking about it and it has been fresh in our minds since we were burgled in December.

"We have got two small children and we are not prepared to put them through anything like that."

Mr Sell said he was angry the post office had no alert system to warn postmasters in the region.

"The post office don't inform you of anything that goes wrong - we are left to rely on hearsay," he claimed.

The security angle was also stressed by Andrew Wright, who looks after Brandsby post office and shop with his wife Lindsey.

He said the Brandsby premises, outside Easingwold, were not secure enough to keep a post office.

"The security system is non-existent, they would just walk in.

"How long until these people want a bit more money and come here? That's what worried me - they will kick the door in and get the key."

Over the past few years, several raids on post offices have taken place, including two raids at Huttons Ambo, Sherburn and Stonegrave, which has since closed.

A spokesman for Post Office Limited said: "There are mechanisms in place to issue warnings to sub-postmasters, but the problem is how big an area do you cover with such a warning?"

He also played down the significance of the Hovingham incident. "We do need to get this into perspective," he said.

"The incident at Hovingham was an attempted break-in to the sub-postmaster's home, not the post office branch."

Police warned that the men behind the terrifying raid on Helmsley post office may strike again.

They say the robbery followed two similar incidents in the area, which they are checking for links.

In addition to the Hovingham break-in, intruders attempted to force a window open at the Nationwide Building Society in Helmsley on the previous weekend.

Three men were in the gang that forced their way into Helmsley post office through the rear door of the building.

Mr Simpson suffered an injured nose, badly bruised ribs, sore eyes from some form of spray used to stun him, and a badly hurt shin where the thieves had stamped on him.

The postmaster told police he had locked the back door when he heard a loud bang and then a chainsaw started cutting through the door. Three masked men pushed in and straight away sprayed him in the face, punching him to the ground and kicking him.

A female assistant was also treated at the Friarage Hospital in Northallerton for the effects of the spray but was otherwise unharmed.

Police said there was evidence linking the two incidents, and they also believed there were strong links with a break-in at Nawton and Beadlam Post Office in December.

During both the Helmsley raid and the Nawton break-in, pieces of wood, apparently from a gate post, were used to jam up against the doors.

Police investigating the Helmsley raid attack are appealing to the public for information. Anyone who can help is asked to contact the Ryedale Witness line on (01723) 509662.

Updated: 09:57 Wednesday, January 22, 2003