A GANG of robbers burst into a post office before threatening the postmistress with a gun.

Shop owner Inthumathy Namby had just opened up for the day, in Snakes Lane East, Woodford Green, and was serving customers at the till when four robbers approached her from the side while another ran to the post office counter.

Postmistress Safi Sivanavna said: “I was serving a customer at the post office counter when I saw them running to the sub-counter. One of them approached my screen with a gun. They tried to get to the door into the post office but it was shut and they couldn't get in.

“The person put the gun in front of me and said 'Give me the money or I'll shoot you'. I was behind the screen so I wasn't that worried. I called 999. There were five or six customers in the shop and they were all screaming. They were banging on the door.”

Mrs Namby said: “This man came up the to side and waited for me. He covered up half his face when he saw the CCTV behind him.

“It happened so suddenly I didn't realise what was happening. I was very afraid. Last night I didn't sleep.”

The robber fled the shop empty-ended at around 9.10am yesterday (August 24).

It is the second time the shop has been the target of gunmen within a year.

Last October Mrs Namby's husband Shan was threatened at gunpoint by two men and forced to hand over £200 in cash.

Mr Namby said he was now thinking of moving his family back home to Sri Lanka as it was safer there than London.

He said: “I feel like it's the same people who've done this. If the police don't catch them, they'll do it again and again.

“I'm very worried but I don't know what to do. I've got all my money invested in the shop, but if someone said they would take it I would get my money. I don't want the shop any more.

“The crime in London is rising a lot. It's safer at home in Sri Lanka. I'm waiting for the situation to get better there, and we're thinking of going back.”