Three masked me received a shocking surprise when they tried to rob a post office in Shirley. The robbers ran into the post office as soon as manager Maria Ahmed opened
the security door. However, Maria managed to elbow one of the robbers out of the way and lock herself inside the shop.
Armed police then showed up with the one and only ‘Ross Kemp.’ Duty relief manager, Miss Maria Ahmed aged 20, said: “We are made of really hard stuff at Shirley Post Office, and we are even harder now that we’ve met Ross Kemp.” She also stated that two other members of staff were also threatened by the men.
Two customers were also in the store at the time of the incident, including a man who stood with his hands up in the air and a woman who stood still in shock. Although the men left without taking anything, Miss Ahmed claimed that “But it was a terrifying experience without a doubt and something I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.
“The main thing is that nobody was hurt and that nothing was taken. Maria has been working at the post office for four years since she left school at the age of 16 and this is the first time she has ever witnessed something so terrifying. Miss Ahmed said that she
felt that no areas in the city were safe. She said that “Everything could have been so different, could have had real crime scene – but we were reopening by late morning today after clearing up the shop and removing all of the police tape which had been there for forensics.”
According to Miss Ahmed, the men were said to be wearing hoodies with scarf masks, tracksuits and trainers. “I didn’t see the other two properly – though one was wearing a long coat to the floor. “The man who threatened me was about 30 with fair skin, about 5ft 4in to 5ft 5in and fatter than normal. “He was shouting, so it’s difficult to tell if he was local, but he sounded like he was.
“I was shaking, and my two colleagues were in the shop being threatened so that I would open the door. “They wanted me to open it, and I was screaming ‘No, no, no!’ “I thought they were just amateurs on what looked like a last-minute job.” “The police were here within four minutes but said they were waiting for armed back-up before going in.
“When the armed police came there were loads of them. “And then I saw Ross Kemp! “But then I realised it really was Ross Kemp and thought ‘Oh, my God!’ “He just came in unarmed, so he’s got balls.
“I used to watch him with my dad years ago when he was playing Grant Mitchell in EastEnders.” When she was asked about whether she would continue working at the
post office, Miss Ahmed said that “You have to work in a job that you love and the people around here are very nice, especially the older generation. “You can’t be frightened, but there is a fear (that someone might come in). “You can’t let (people like this) give you a bad day. “There were so many police outside, and they were really good with us –but I felt better when I saw Ross.”
