A POST office manager spoke of his shock today after two men wielding a gun and an axe carried out a

terrifying raid.

They burst into Wick Post Office, at Wick, near Littlehampton, at 4.20pm and threatened a woman cashier with a gun.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, cowered behind a

toughened security screen while one of the men attempted to smash it with the gun and demanded money.

The other man swung an axe and repeatedly chopped chunks out of the counter as manager Leonard Cox looked on in horror from a back room.

He called the police and told the cashier to lie on the floor while the attackers continued to shout: "Give me the money."

The female cashier eventually handed the men just £45 from the till before the raiders fled out of the door on foot.

Mr Cox, who has been at the post office for eight years, said: "It all happened so quickly.

"Two teenagers basically charged into the office, one started hitting the shop counter with an axe and

the other one rushed up to the post office with a

gun and demanded money.

"He started banging the screen, which did not break, so I told my counter assistant to lie on the floor.

"I told her just to hand over what was in the till, which she did.

"It was a hell of a lot of hullabaloo for about £45.

"He was just shouting, 'Give me the money' all the time.

"It was terrifying. I am still not over it. My cashier was very shaken.

"This sort of thing is

just rife.

"People think they can charge into places and just do whatever they like.

" I am sure they were not doing it for kicks. They just wanted money.

"I suppose we are lucky because they could have got away with more money."

There was nobody else in the post office, in Wick Street, at the time of the raid.

Police said the two men were described as aged between 18 to 20, 5ft 10in tall and were carrying

plastic bags.

The axe was later recovered nearby.

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