A 77-year-old ex-Army officer sent two armed robbers fleeing empty-handed from West Ewell post office yesterday morning.

William Keen, newly elected councillor for Ruxley ward, heard a terrified woman screaming as he did some shopping in a nearby store about 9am on Tuesday.

He ran into the Chessington Road post office and saw the two hooded men, one holding a handgun, trying to rob the post office and calmly ordered them from the premises.

After checking that the would-be robbers had left the area he then went back into the post office to help look after the traumatised staff.

Speaking shortly after the attack Mr Keen said: “I was doing some shopping when I heard screaming and I went into the Post Office and saw them there.”

As he entered one of the robbers put the handgun away.

“I said ‘come on lads, there is nothing for you here.’ I just told them to clear-off. They didn’t look wealthy enough to have a car. I think they came by train.”

After ensuring the deeply shocked post office staff were being properly looked after, he walked to a nearby cafe to order his usual daily breakfast and wait for police to give his statement.

“It didn’t worry me. I am ex-Army and you get used to dealing with incidents,” he said.

Police say that the two men fled in the direction of Fulford Road.

The robbers are described as two black men, aged between 18 and 20, approximately 5ft 9in tall, of skinny build and both were wearing hooded tops.

The one holding the gun was wearing a light grey hooded top and he had a black and white chequered scarf wrapped around his face, the other had a dark scarf wrapped around his face.

Investigating officer, Detective Sergeant Alex Maguire said: “Obviously this was a very frightening experience for the employee and clearly we need to find those responsible for this attempted robbery.

“The passerby was very brave in challenging the two men and luckily no one was injured. We know the two suspects ran off in the direction of Fulford Road but where did they go after that?

“Perhaps you were in the Fulford Road area of West Ewell at around 9.15am this morning and saw two men running down the road but didn’t think anything suspicious at the time? We need your help to catch these men “.

Call Surrey Police on 0845 125 2222 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

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