Police step up search for robbers

POLICE officers returned to the scene of an armed robbery today in a bid to find clues after a slow start to investigations.

Six officers were at Haughley post office which was robbed by a masked gang-of-three last Tuesday morning.

The anniversary checks were carried out by uniformed police officers and involved stopping pedestrians and motorists.

It is only the second day the branch has been open since last week's robbery.

Police have expressed their disappointment at the response to their witness appeal and admitted they received few clues to pinpoint the culprits in the past six days.

The robbery, at 9.55am a week ago, saw a trio storm into the quiet Old Street post office with a large hammer, shotgun and a scythe-like weapon and demand cash.

Two female employees were behind the counters at the time and raised the alarm - forcing the gang to leave empty handed.

The gang used a stolen red Ford Sierra car to get away from the scene and dumped it shortly after in Dagworth Lane in the village.

Det Con Mike Game said: "The whole idea of checks like these is to talk to people who could have been in the same area a week before.

"Lots of us are creatures of habits and it may be that someone collects their pension or draws out family allowance by clockwork and would have been at the post office last week.

"We stopped pedestrians and motorists near the post office in the hope they would remember information which can help with our enquiries."

He added: "It has been busier than we thought it was going to be it's a busy little village and the more people we spoke to the more chance there was of finding something useful.

"We did have witnesses come forward on the day but sometimes people slip through the net or need a little prompting.

"The information we have collected will be looked at and used to take our enquiries forward."

Anyone with information about the raid or the theft of the car is asked to call Suffolk police on 01284 774100.