'˜Overwhelming' community support after attempted knife-point robbery at Post Office near Chorley

Naseem and Seema Akhter, who own the Post Office on School Lane, Brinscall, have received dozens of bunches of flowers, cards and concerned messages since the incident last week.

The couple reported that they had only just re-opened the shop after lunch when the two men, wearing balaclavas, attempted the robbery at around 2pm on Monday, June 20.

Mr Akhter was upstairs when the men reportedly ran into the shop and demanded money from his wife, who was behind the glass counter.

Mrs Akhter said at first, she thought it was a joke.

She said: “They just barged in and demanded the money.

“I suddenly realised that this was not a joke.

“They were banging on the glass counter to try and smash it and one of them was threatening me with a knife.

“They kept asking me to open the safe and I just kept telling them to go away.

“One of them tried to climb into the counter and I pushed him back and shouted ‘get out’ and pressed the panic button.

“I didn’t have time to think about how I felt, I just responded.”

Mr Akhter said he ran downstairs when he heard all the shouting.

He said: “By the time I got downstairs they were running.

“They got nothing from us, there was no damage and nobody was hurt, so we are just thankful for that.

“We have never experienced anything like this in the 29 years we have lived here.

“And the whole village has contacted us to see how we are - people are concerned about us, but we’re fine.”

Mrs Akhter added that they were “overwhelmed” with the response from the village.

“From the very next morning, people were coming asking how we were,” she said.

“Each and every person has saying they are sorry for what has happened.

“We can’t thank them enough for their support.”

A police spokesman confirmed the incident had been reported to them.

He said: “Two males entered the premises and threatened two members of staff with a knife.

“They attempted to steal money but were unable to and made off empty-handed.”

Officers believe this was an isolated incident, but say patrols have been stepped up and enquiries are ongoing.

If you have any information, call police on 101.