Would-be robbers leave empty-handed after 'brave' Biggin Hill post office worker raises the alarm

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A WOMAN employed at a Biggin Hill post office has been praised for her bravery and courage after she thwarted an attempted armed robbery.

She was confronted by two men wearing balaclavas at the McColls shop just after 6am on September 9, 2016. They demanded the keys to the safe and one of the men hit the woman’s face with a weapon.

When the woman said she had pressed her panic alarm the pair fled empty-handed. The woman was taken to hospital for her injuries, which included heavy bruising to the right side of her face.

Christopher Heath, 35 and of New Addington, pleaded guilty to attempted robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence and was sentenced to a total of eight years’ imprisonment.

Anthony Patton, 31, of no fixed abode, was found guilty of attempted robbery and having an imitation firearm with intent to commit an indictable offence. He was sentenced to five years’ in jail, to run consecutively to a 10-year term of imprisonment he was given in April, after he admitted a conspiracy to commit residential and non-residential burglaries, conspiracy to commit theft of motor vehicles and robbery.

Detective constable Dan Beek, of the Met’s Flying Squad, said: “I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of the post office employee who alerted police to this crime by pressing her panic alarm. She was threatened and assaulted by Heath and Patton but, as a result of her courage, they left empty-handed.

“The Flying Squad acted quickly to identify these two men and arrest them. The significant custodial sentences reflect the seriousness of using a firearm with an intention to commit a robbery.”