This morning, around 9am, Stefan Bauer, a man in his late 80s, stopped breathing in Porter Bridge Post Office while a masked man with a hand-gun was escaping the post office.

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Jocelyn Rhys-Jeankin, the owner, 40, was a former paramedic for the West Yorkshire Ambulance Service and saved his life through chest compressions and artificial respiration.

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Jocelyn said: “I think I have never been more terrified in my life.”

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The robber pointed his gun at the eight customers, which included elderly pensioners and a toddler, demanding them to line up, and shouted for staff to hand over money from the tills.

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The masked man also grabbed and shoved one of the pensioners, Hayley Reid, 73, who fell and hit her head on the counter.

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Jocelyn said: “How he could do that to a bunch of pensioners and a toddler is beyond me. The child was screaming.”

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Workers David Jeankin, 64, and Sheila Slaithwaite, 53, were forced to hand over £270 in notes and two bags of coins with £50 in each.

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Mrs Rhys-Jeankin said that the robber shouted: “Where is the rest of the bloody money?” But the post office has a cash transfer system, so there was no more money on the tills.

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While trying to escape, the robber crashed into a printer and dropped the money. He demanded the customers to pick it all up, but Jocelyn said she would do it. She had to collect the money while having a gun pressed on her head.

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After the robber ran away, Stefan collapsed and Jocelyn tried to revive him. Sheila called the ambulance, which arrived five minutes later, and only then contacted the police. Stefan is now in recovery.

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The robber was a tall man all dressed in black. CrimeStoppers is asking people with any information to contact them through 0800 555111.

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