A POSTMASTER bound and gagged by two masked robbers during a dawn raid on his village store has told police he wants to quit his job.

Mark Whitehouse told detectives the psychological impact of the robbery has forced him to reconsider his future.

The 43-year-old was pounced on as he opened up Southwick News and Post Office, in Chantry Gardens, at 5.05am on Friday.

Bundled into the shop, two men clad in balaclavas forced him to the ground and demanded keys to a safe.

Binding his wrists together with tape, they wrapped a makeshift gag around his head and stole a quantity of cash from a post office safe.

Det Sgt Pete Auburn said the calculated raid was well organised and calmly executed.

He said: "The postmaster is extremely distressed to the extent he no longer wants to carry on with the post office job.

"The robbers were calm throughout which makes it seem more professional. The only threats they made were for him to shut up, which is why they taped him up.

"They have used minimal force to obtain the money from the safe but the psychological effect it has had on the postmaster is extreme."

The raid on Southwick bears hallmarks to a similar robbery at a post office in Rode five months ago, in which the postmaster and his wife were tied up and assaulted during a one-hour ordeal.

Wiltshire detectives have already contacted colleagues at Avon and Somerset police to tally up the inquiries.

Parish council chairman Roy Butt, who visits the store on a daily basis, said it was frightening to think the robbers lay in wait for Mr Whitehouse to arrive.

"We feel a great deal of sympathy for Mark. He has not been in the job that long," he said.

"It was a very great shock. We have incidents of vandalism but to have this sort of robbery with a man trussed up is terrible."

Police believe after the robbery both men fled towards the A361 on foot towards a waiting vehicle.

Detectives were due to quiz drivers on Frome Road between 4.30am and 5.30am this morning.

Officers were alerted to a break-in at the store on Tuesday in which cigarettes were stolen, but believe the two incidents are not linked.

DS Auburn said postmasters should not open stores on their own in light of the raid.

Both robbers wore balaclavas, dark clothing and hooded jackets. They were of medium to large build and between 5ft 9ins and 6ft tall.