ARMED robbers on the run in St Albans were cornered by police in a residential street after they held up a post office with sawn-off shotguns. People living in Althorp Road found themselves in the middle of a massive search by armed police on the trail of

ARMED robbers on the run in St Albans were cornered by police in a residential street after they held up a post office with sawn-off shotguns.

People living in Althorp Road found themselves in the middle of a massive search by armed police on the trail of three robbers who stole a large amount of cash from the Fleetville Post Office on Hatfield Road.

The men, one aged 35 from Norfolk, another one aged 32 from St Neots and a 35-year-old of no fixed abode, were wearing balaclavas when they burst into the post office at about 5.30 on Friday. They demanded cash and emptied the safe.

The robbers got away in a car that might have been a Vauxhall Cavalier.

A man who lives in a flat on Althorp Road said: "At about 5.40pm on Friday night I got a call from a girl who lives in the flat below me. She was clearly distressed and said that there were two guys screaming at each other on our driveway."

As he works near-by he decided to leave straightaway and check that everything was alright. When he got to Althorp Road he said that he could see about 15 armed police officers and the road had been blocked off.

He was allowed inside and saw the incident unfold almost on his doorstep. He explained: "Just at the end of my driveway was a guy on his knees with his hands on his head and three or four armed policemen around him. They had flash lights and dogs and were patrolling all the wooded areas along the road, including my garden. A police helicopter was passing back and forth and the police were searching everywhere including up the trees and on top of some of the roofs."

Two men were arrested in Althorp Road soon after the robbery and a third man was arrested in Beechwood Avenue.

They were charged and appeared in court on Monday.