BARNTON'S sub-postmaster has appealed for the public's help in catching two armed robbers who terrorised staff and shoppers at Barnton Post Office last week.

Postmaster Christine Robinson said on Friday: "These are men who feel that society owes them revenue, and they should be stopped."

The men burst into the post office in Runcorn Road at around 11am on Wednesday, September 2, as a delivery man from Royal Mail arrived to hand over a strongbox.

One of the robbers carried some kind of automatic handgun, while the other brandished a metallic baseball bat.

They held the delivery man at gunpoint, and ordered him to lie on the floor as the gunman ransacked the strongbox.

They then demanded more money from the post office staff, saying they would shoot the delivery man if they didn't hand the cash over.

The second man began smashing the reinforced glass window which protected the counter staff with his baseball bat, but he could not get through to them.

"My staff were in an awful position," said Mrs Robinson, who also runs Barnton Pharmacy across the road from the post office.

"They were very, very annoyed that the public had been threatened. And there was nothing they could do about it."

Around 10 people were shopping in the post office at the time of the raid, including a young girl and her mother.

The robbers escaped, using a K-registration maroon Vauxhall Cavalier getaway car, which was later found abandoned in Stone Heyes Lane, half a mile from the post office.

"I knew everyone in the post office by their first name," said Mrs Robinson.

"They had reacted very well to it all. Obviously they were very shocked, because they had been threatened by these men, but I have nothing but praise for their courage."

Police have released descriptions of the robbers.

The gunman is thought to be aged around 30, and of mixed race. He is around 5ft 7ins tall, and is described by witnesses as "chubby".

He was wearing a black 'Beatles' style wig on the day of the raid.

He also wore thin-framed spectacles with oval lenses.

The second man is white, aged between 25 and 30, and is around 5ft 10ins tall. He is of medium build, and clean shaven.

He was wearing a dark-coloured woolly hat, and a 'Lone Ranger' mask.

Both men are thought to have faint Liverpool accents.

Police are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen these men outside the post office.

They also want to hear from anyone who saw the men in their getaway car, either in Runcorn Road or in Stone Heyes Lane.

Police believe they may have left Stone Heyes Lane on foot, or they may have had a second getaway car ready.

If you have any information on the raid, ring Det Con Kevin Chambers or Det Insp Dougie Lawton at Northwich Police Station on 01244 613258.

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