Police launch murder hunt after post office robbery

Officers were called to the Village Shop and Post Office in Melsonby, near Richmond, at around 8.30am today after the raid.

A woman in her 40s, named locally as post office owner Diane Garbutt, who ran the business with her husband Robin, was found dead at the scene.

Tonight officers said a substantial amount of cash had been stolen and they are looking for a man wearing a balaclava who broke into the premises.

They have appealed for anyone in the local area who may have seen something suspicious between the times of 4am and 9am to contact them.

This morning's robbery comes just over a year after the business, in East Road, was targeted in an armed raid when two men stole cash and stamps, and threatened staff with what appeared to be a handgun.

Tonight the area remains cordoned off and local residents have laid flowers around the scene.

The stone-built premises stands at the corner of East Road, in the tiny village, which is just off the A1, a few miles north of the town of Richmond.

People in the village said the post office was owned and run by Diane and Robin Garbutt.

Bill Nixon, who owns Nixon's Garage opposite the post office, said he could not think of any reason why anybody would want to rob the post office.

"They sold stamps and other stuff, not a lot of things. Why anyone would want to go in there I don't know," said Mr Nixon.

"Maybe somebody cased the joint, I just don't know."

Mr Nixon said he thought the incident happened at around 8.30am. He was at the garage at that time but did not hear anything unusual.

He said: "I was just here and all the kids were down there, about 38 to 40 kids. They get their sweets and that from the shop.

"I had a contractor coming to see me. I told him to park his van across the road and then I had another customer and within a few minutes I heard the ambulance come. I thought 'that's strange', then all hell broke loose."

Linda Ling, who works part-time in the shop and lives in a cottage diagonally opposite, said the couple were "dead lovely".

She said: "A dead lovely couple, just very devoted, that's all I can say.

"I feel very sorry for Robin, I don't know how he'll go on without her."

Ms Ling said she thought Mr and Mrs Garbutt were both in their early 40s and had been married for around five or six years.

She also said she did not see or hear anything to signal a disturbance.

She said: "I never heard a thing.

"I opened my curtains around 8.15am this morning and saw the kids waiting for the bus, went to make my bed and then saw the ambulance."

Ms Ling said: "I just hope they catch them this time."

Two young women came to lay a bunch of flowers each at the scene.

Visibly upset, they said the small close-knit community was shocked at the death.

One of the women, who did not want to be named, said: "They were the nicest people you could ever meet, the most genuine people.

"All the kids round here just loved them."

She also said they were supposed to be going on holiday in a few weeks.

Another resident, who did not want to be named, said he thought the couple moved to Melsonby around seven years ago from the York area but did contemplate leaving after last year's robbery in which, he said, 10,000 or 11,000 was stolen.