A SHOCKED eyewitness today told how he saw four suspected armed raiders flee from a village post office, trailing cash in their wake.Police hunting a trio of armed raiders responsible for a string of robberies – including the raid yesterday at Ingham - today believe the gang may now include a fourth man.

A SHOCKED eyewitness today told how he saw four suspected armed raiders flee from a village post office, trailing cash in their wake.

Police hunting a trio of armed raiders responsible for a string of robberies – including the raid yesterday at Ingham - today believe the gang may now include a fourth man.

The raiders may now be responsible for four Suffolk raids in just over three months. Police today refused to rule out that one gang is responsible for terrorising post offices across the country.

They made off in a car towards Bury St Edmunds leaving a trail of discarded cash in their wake.

A male witness said: "I was coming home and I pulled into the lay-by to allow some cars to turn. I saw two black men leave the post office which is unusual around here."

He thought he saw another two black men follow them out of the post office.

He added: "I turned round and saw the post office door had been left open which I thought was strange so I went in and they said they'd been robbed.

"The postmistress asked me to stand guard while she went to see a friend. She was quite shaken up. I suppose it is a bit worrying, but I wasn't frightened."

The resident described how he stumbled on bundles of marked notes lining his road home.

The postmistress of the Ingham store declined to comment today on the robbery, which happened shortly after 4.15pm.

Police said the robbers were black, aged in their late teens or early 20s, about 5ft 7in tall, of slim build and wearing dark coats and black hoods to cover their faces.

Detective Inspector Andy Henwood, of Suffolk police, said: "This would have been a busy time on the A134 with people heading home from work or the school run.

"We are confident that someone will have seen something relating to this incident and I would urge you to contact us as a matter of urgency.

"It may be that you noticed someone acting suspiciously prior to the incident or witnessed a vehicle being driven from the scene at speed or erratically."

Suffolk detectives confirmed they are liaising with neighbouring forces to catch the gang which may now be responsible for four raids in four months.

A police spokesman said: "It may be the incidents are unrelated because in the latest robbery in Ingham it appears we are looking for four rather than three men.

"We cannot however rule out that the robberies are not linked."

Last November the sub postmistress at Stonham Parva was held up by a similar gang, swathed in dark scarves who burst into her shop.

One threatened her with what appeared to be a silver handgun and another went behind the counter and demanded money from a safe.

Members of a gang – thought to be the same - returned three weeks later and held the beleaguered store again before burglarising her property yet again later that day.

The same gang may have been responsible for an armed attack on a garage in Burrell Road in Ipswich in November when three men held up a cashier.

The men in each raid are described as black, slim build and in their late teens to early twenties. They usually wear dark clothes and mask their faces with a hood.

Anyone with any information should contact police on 01473 613500 or Crimestoppers 0800 555 111.