Fast-acting police have foiled an armed raid on a post office after catching three men in the act.
Officers arrived at the branch where Church Road meets Ladypool Pool in Birmingham at about 8.40am on Wednesday, while the suspects were still inside.
West Midlands Police said it had arrested three men, who were reportedly armed with machetes, at the scene.
Eyewitnesses described how several officers equipped with riot shields barricaded both a front door and side entrance to seal off the shop, as soon as they arrived.
A male staff member was stabbed several times in the leg but his injuries are not thought to be life threatening.
During the incident, several £10 and £20 notes were left lying in the post office’s roof guttering.
A car was later removed from the scene by police for forensic examination.
Leigh Wallis, who lives opposite the shop, saw three men taken out of the shop one by one, wearing handcuffs, before being led to waiting police vans.
He said: “It was just before 9am, and my son was looking out the window saying ‘what’s going on?”‘
“There was an ambulance and a guy with a bloodied leg sat on the pavement.
“I looked across and the police had barricaded the doors.
“Then after about 10 minutes, they started bringing these guys out in handcuffs, one by one.”
He added: “In a bizarre twist there are £10 and £20 notes still in the guttering of the shop, which I can only think have come from what happened.”
Mr Wallis described the injured staff member as a “lovely guy” and “always smiling”.
He said that having lived in the area four years it was usually trouble-free with a strong community spirit, while several new businesses have opened in the past few months.
“The dentists down the road brought out a recliner chair for the injured guy, so he could sit in that while he was being treated by the medic,” said Mr Wallis.
“It was all a bit of a surprise, because as he was being treated, the guys were still inside the post office.”
A spokesman for West Midlands Police said: “Police have arrested three men reportedly armed with machetes as they tried to rob a post office in Moseley this morning.
“The men, aged between 18 and 25, were dressed in balaclavas and hoodies.
“A member of staff was stabbed a number of times in the leg but his injuries are not life threatening.”
Chief Inspector Julian Harper, force incident manager, said “We’re asking people to come forward if they saw anything suspicious in the area around that time to give us a call on 101 with any information.”