DARING STREET THEFT.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20668, 13 September 1930, Page 2 (Supplement)

DARING STREET THEFT.

LOOTING OF A MAIL VAN.

UNUSUAL AUDACITY IN LONDON

Bandits nover exhibited more audacity than four men who lately stole a Royal Mail van in London, drove it to a post office, where they looted it, and then abandoned it.

The van, which contained ten bundles of letters and 17 registered packages, left tho Northern District Post Office, Islington, soon after 7 a.m., and at 7.30 tho driver carried a bundle of letters into some business premises in Pentonville Road. Ho was opening the back door of the van to throw in tho empty mail bag, when the vehicle shot away from him. Tho driver shouted for help nnd mhod after his disappearing van. A few people followed him, but they wore soon outdistanced by tho bandits. Tho van was closely followed by another motor-van. which is also boliovcd to have belonged to tho baridits.

Just before 8 a.m. peoplo working in the potato market, opposite York Road Poat Office, Islington, saw a mail van draw up at the post office and four men transfer the threo bags of mail that were inside to another van. The onlookers did not attach much importance to this, because tho van was standing outside a post office. ~ „ ... A few minutes later the staff of the

post office arrived to find tho empty van. Tho polico were informod, and detectives wore soon scouring tho district, but the bandits had got well away. The police formed tho opinion that ono man drove tho mail van while threo others rode in the old van which followed the stolen vehicle from Pentonville Road to York Road Post Office and disappeared when tho thr6o mailbags had beon transferred. This audacious robbery crowns a series of 18 mail thefts this year. On July 15 a postman delivering letters in Westminster had his mailbag snatched by a man who jumped off a bicycle. On July 7 a postman crossing Holborn, with fifty registered letters in a bag was attacked by two men who jumped out of a motorcar, stole his bag, and drove off. On April banknotes worth £2750 disappeared from a train betweon Manchester and Leek, Staffordshire. Last year thoro were 68 mail robberies.