Crime Squad find jemmy, banknotes
THE MIDLAND Regional Crime Squad and detectives and uniformed men of the Worcestershire Constabulary with tracker dogs were today following up clues in a big search for the man who last night attacked a Worcester sub-postmaster and robbed him of £7,748 in cash and insurance stamps.
The victim was 53 years-old Mr. Ronald Skan, sub-postmaster of St. John's, who was injured when hit with a jemmy as he was getting out of his car outside his home at the Firs, Broadwas, near Worcester. His wife, Mary, was was with him when the attacker struck.
Mr. Skan had taken home the money and insurance stamps as a precaution following a break-in the night before at a nearby newsagents' shop in St. John's, but both the brief case and a musical satchel in which he was carrying his valuable cargo were snatched.
The man escaped on foot. Mr. Skan gave chase for a short distance.
Inside the music satchel was £5,028 worth of insurance stamps and £2,300 in bank notes, mainly in bundles of 500, while the brown leather brief case contained £420 in money and also a lot of personal papers.
TRACKER DOGS
Today police with tracker dogs found one of the bundles of bank notes in a field some distance away and also discovered the jemmy which they believe was the weapon used by the attacker.
It was at 6.30 last night that Mr. and Mrs. Skan drove up the long drive and round to the back of their homier the centre of Broadwas village. They then got out of the car and reached inside to get some shopping and also the brief and briefcase snatched from him.
As they were doing this Mr. Skan heard somebody coming up behind him. He thought it was his daughter coming out to help. Seconds later he felt a sharp blow on the shoulder and had the satchel and briefcase snatched from his grasp.
Mr. Skan saw his attacker running off down the drive and along the road towards Worcester and gave chase, but soon had to give up. He then ran to the village police station about 60yards away and raised the alarm.
The jemmy used in the attack, and a bundle of banknotes found in a field.
While this was happening, Mrs. Skan, who had also run down the drive, spoke to the driver of a passing car which had come from the Knightwick direction and told him of the attack. He immediately drove to the village police station and helped Mr. Skan back to his home. The motorist then drove off, but the police would now like to contact them as soon as possible.
Det-Supt, A. C. Hughes head of Worcestershire C.I.D. who is leading the search, said today that the missing music satchel has written inside, "Judith Skan, the Alice Ottley School, The Firs, Broadwas."
Mr. Skan told our reporter this afternoon,"Normally I only take home my briefcase with papers in it, but there had been a break-in the night before at Steadmans, the newsagents and also another raid on a shop in St. John's last week so I was a bit worried and took the money and valuables with me. It certainly seems a very strange coincidence that the man should have chosen to attack me just just when I had all the money with me. He must have come out from the darkness at the side of the house, and as I was bent down into the car there was this quick bang and bash. He must have aimed for my head with the metal thing, but luckily he only hit my shoulder and wrist and as I dropped the case and satchel he grabbed them and ran off. I gave chase for a couple of hundred yards but then had to give up," said Mr. Skan.
"It was all an extremely frightening experience," he added. Mr Skan described his attacker as youngish, small, and wearing dark clothing. |
Policemen who were rushed to the scene of the attack to inspect Mr. Skan's car for possiblele clues. The smaller picture of Mr. Skan taken to-day by an "Evening News" photographer. Mr. Skan got up from resting to pose for the picture.
Mr. Skan told our reporter this afternoon,"Normally I only take home my briefcase with papers in it, but there had been a break-in the night before at Steadmans, the newsagents and also another raid on a shop in St. John's last week so I was a bit worried and took the money and valuables with me. It certainly seems a very strange coincidence that the man should have chosen to attack me just just when I had all the money with me. He must have come out from the darkness at the side of the house, and as I was bent down into the car there was this quick bang and bash. He must have aimed for my head with the metal thing, but luckily he only hit my shoulder and wrist and as I dropped the case and satchel he grabbed them and ran off. I gave chase for a couple of hundred yards but then had to give up," said Mr. Skan.
"It was all an extremely frightening experience," he added. Mr Skan described his attacker as youngish, small, and wearing dark clothing.
The jemmy used in the attack, and a bundle of banknotes found in a field.
I was 17 years old when this robbery occured, I remember that a villager actually found the bundle of banknotes and handed them into the police station. The police had been over local fields tracking the robbers scent with dogs, and they apparently lost any further traces of the robber in the middle of a field.
My mum Doris Holland was sub-postmaster of Knightwick Post Office and I know was very upset when she heard what had happened to Mr. Skan, and imagined the same thing might happen with her. Apart from a wire fence in front of the money area of the Post Office, any one could have jumped over the shop counter!
Mr Skan dropped in to help assure her that this was probably very unlikely now, as the man who committed the robbery if not caught would probably think twice about doing anything in the same area with the police now on full alert. I think that made her feel a bit less vulnerable, but a few extra precautions were made just in case.
Luckily for us nothing like this ever happened.
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Broadwas Churchyard
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