The village of Landrake was in a state of shock on yesterday after residents learned their Post Office had been raided the previous evening.
Thieves got away with £8,000 in cash, believed to be part of the payout for local pensioners, who found the Post Office shut and unable to serve them.
Two men had entered the Post Office and Store, owned by retired teachers Trevor and Carol Arroll, just before 7pm, and while one distracted the shop assistant on duty by pretending to make a purchase, the other man went into an unlocked store room, found the keys to the safe and stole the cash inside.
The assistant, realising what was happening, bravely raised the alarm and gave chase to the men as they ran off through the village but had to give up. A police helicopter was soon at the scene searching the surrounding area and police patrol vehicles set up check points along the A38 and other routes in and out of Cornwall.
Descriptions of the men have been released. Both are described as white and aged 35-40 years with Northern or Midland accents. One had short greying hair and was wearing a long black coat and black track suit bottoms with a coloured triangle shape on the leg, and the other had short cropped dark hair and was wearing light coloured trousers.
Although the Post Office counter was closed on Thursday while officials carried out an audit, with their own security personnel on guard, the adjoining food store was trading as usual, with assistants Angie Gower and Trish Barton holding the fort. They said everyone was in total shock as they couldn't believe something so awful had happened in the village.
Anyone with information is asked to contact the police on 0990 777 444 or ring Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.