"It was a terrible shock but you've just got to get on with it. The customer's have been wonderful. It's their support that makes it all worthwhile." These are the words of the Skerton sub-postmaster who bravely returned to work the day after after being robbed by three masked thugs. Although badly shaken, the couple, who were forced to hand over cash in a menacing raid on Skerton Post Office on Monday morning, were back serving loyal customers on Tuesday.

"We went straight back to work," she added, "The customers come first. You just have to get on with it when you are self employed. It's quite a close knit community around here and they've all be very kind and given us their support."

It was the second raid on the Skerton Post Office in the last couple of years and police believe the latest robbery may be connected to a similar raid in Kendal.

The alarm was raised at 8.57am on Monday, when police were called to the Owen Road premises. Investigations have revealed that the three masked raiders had managed to gain entry to the flat above the post office and then forced themselves into the secure area when the local couple arrived for work.

The offenders fled in a 'K' registered red Vauxhall Cavalier with a substantial amount of cash. The car was later discovered in the car park at Denny Beck Bridge, Halton, along with discarded clothing.

Police believe they swapped vehicles at Denny Beck before heading south on the M6 at junction 34.

A police spokesman said: "There's no doubt that at this time in the morning members of the public would have been the areas used by the offenders. Certainly, Denny Beck is a popular route for commuters making their way towards the M6 motorway. Anyone who saw the red Cavalier or anything suspicious should contact us on Lancaster 63333."

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.