Member Article

Armed robbers told off by post office staffer

Two bungling robbers who held up a post office at gunpoint gave up when the woman behind the counter told them not to be “so silly”.

The two culprits, both from Blackpool, drove 50 miles to the seaside village of Arnside in Cumbria because they had heard the shop there would be a soft target. But they reckoned without indomitable sub-postmistress Sandra Gardner – despite having an imitation pistol pointed at her chest, she gave them a good telling off. As they threatened her with the “realistic” gun and told her to hand over the cash, she simply looked at them and said: “Don’t be so silly. I’m going to ring the police.”

Blackpool Today reports that the two men then left the shop and tried to drive off, but had to free their getaway car first as it had been boxed in in the car park. Mrs Gardner gave the police a running commentary on the phone as they left. Both men were later arrested and tried, and Mrs Gardner was given a £350 reward.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .