Police release CCTV stills in bid to catch armed robber

The man wearing a balaclava is seen holding a sawn-off shotgun in his right hand in the Post Office in the Premier Convenience Store on Cliff Road, Hornsea, on Monday evening.

In a second image he is seen leading the sub-postmaster away from the shop floor into the staff area.

The third still shows the back of the offender and gives a clear view of his clothes - a black jacket without a hood and a light-coloured top underneath. The robber was wearing dark trousers and possibly dark brown boots.

The man went into the store’s rear yard shortly after the Post Office closed for business and after threatening the staff escaped with a large quantity of cash.

Police believe that the man, probably working with someone else, had carried out reconnaissance of the store in recent weeks.

Detective Inspector Emma Heatley, said: ”My officers have worked tirelessly unravelling every possible scenario surrounding this robbery.

“We strongly suspect a second person to be involved in the planning of this robbery, we are certain the offender/s will have done a ‘recce’ of the job perhaps a week or a few days prior to the robbery, so we are conducting a lot of enquiries around this.

“If anyone from Hornsea saw anything they thought ‘odd’ or out of place in the week running up to the robbery please call the police.

“The suspect could have discarded some of their clothing immediately after the robbery, officers have done several searches, however if when out walking you spot something that you think the offender may have worn, I would urge you to call the police.”