SUB-POST offices are an increasingly frequent target for armed robbery.

A staggering 1,400 are attacked each year.

Clearly, those who run them are at risk and deserve the fullest protection.

But if these attacks cannot be totally prevented, then those working in our sub-post offices must have proper back-up help when the worst happens.

The lives of those who find themselves staring down the barrel of a raider's gun can, understandably, be shattered afterwards.

Yet, sub-postmasters claim that the counselling and care that victims receive is of neither sufficient quality nor duration.

The Post Office has an urgent duty to sort out this grievance - both as an employer and out of plain humanity.

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