GAZETTE & HERALD: A reward of £5,000 has been offered in a desperate bid to catch the armed raiders who attacked 75-year-old Corsham postmaster Richard Tovell.

Thousands of pounds have been stolen from a number of Wiltshire post offices in a spate of similar burglaries that are thought to be connected.

Royal Mail has now stumped up the reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the most recent Prospect Post Office attack.

Mr Tovell, joint owner of the post office in Lypiatt Road with his wife Olive, was callously tied up and robbed of several thousand pounds by two men with a crow bar.

The armed robbers struck as Mr Tovell was opening the post office at 4.30am on Wednesday, April 20.

The couple have owned the post

office for 25 years and estimate they have been the victims of 15 raids in that time.

Two men with their faces hidden by masks rushed in and one bundled Mr Tovell to the ground.

One of the raiders tied his wrists behind his back with parcel tape from the shop floor and demanded the keys to the safe. He was still tied up when the men made their escape but Mr Tovell managed to free himself and call the police and his wife.

Fiona Tucker, Post Office Limited's rural support manager for Corsham, said: "Thanks to the remarkable resilience of Mr and Mrs Tovell and the support of their family, friends and valued customers in the local community, they were able to reopen the post office very quickly after this traumatic incident.

"We take the safety of our staff and security of our services very seriously and we have also been keen to do everything we can to support the couple following the robbery.

"That's why we are offering a reward of up to £5,000 to anyone who can provide information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for causing so much distress and upheaval."

Wiltshire police has renewed its appeal for information about the incident and is asking witnesses around at the time of the attack to call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or Trowbridge police, who are dealing with the case, on (01225) 763101.

A spokesman said the two men may have been wearing hooded tops.