Robbers who mistook fridge for safe during Post Office raid are jailed

The attackers, who left a trail of evidence that helped convict them, were so incompetent they left staff completely bemused after ordering them to open a fridge in a hunt for cash. When they ran off they had only managed to steal around £2,000, even though there was £58,000 on the premises.

The three men, who had travelled down from Manchester, were arrested soon after the incident at Priorswood Post Office, Taunton, Somerset, on Thursday, April 3. Liam Gilmore, 18, his father Gareth and uncle Craig Marsden, both 37, all from Manchester, were jailed for five years after admitting robbery at Taunton Crown Court.

There were three members of staff inside when they burst in, while a customer was ushered out the back door by postmaster Simon Wheatley, who closed the security screen.

Gareth Gilmore smashed the glass panel with the sledgehammer, while one of his accomplices carried a claw hammer, as the terrified staff looked on. He then jumped over the counter and shouted at the assistant: "Where's the safe? Open the safe."

Mr Evans said: "She was in shock and stood there looking blankly at him. He then started scooping up notes from an open cash drawer.

He then moved closer to Simon Wheatley and repeated his demand to open the safe, pointing at a fridge, Simon said, 'It isn't a safe, it's a fridge'." The robbers ran off, having stolen £2,200, discarding the balaclavas and anoraks they had been wearing in people's dustbins.