Shopkeeper defiant after robberies

BACK in business . . . manager Chiraag Shah has reopened the News Plus post office in Chadderton as his family vow to continue running the business despite the robberies

‘We will not be beaten’

A POST OFFICE owner has vowed to bounce back after his business was robbed twice in six weeks.

Defiant Dinesh Shah (62), who runs the family business in Parkgate, Burnley Lane, Chadderton, has reopened the store after the double blow — which saw the shop’s front reduced to rubble.

The first robbery happened shortly before midnight on Thursday, October 14, when ram raiders smashed through the front of the shop in a Ford Transit pick-up and made off with the cash machine.

Dinesh’s son and business manager Chiraag Shah (33) said: “It was such a shock.

“I went to check because the alarm was going off but when I got to the shop the entire front was completely gone.

“My dad was pretty distressed and my mum just started to cry.

“There is no other way to describe it other than total shock.”

The shop was then closed for three weeks, while staff worked tirelessly to clean up the devastation and contractors installed a wooden shop front.

Showing their determination, workers painted Christmas motifs on the walls to lift spirits and served customers in thick coats as temperatures inside and outside the shop plummeted.

But opportunistic thugs dealt a further blow this week as they smashed through the temporary door and tore the cigarette display from the wall in the early hours of yesterday morning.

Chiraag said: “This time I was angry, it’s like kicking us while we are down.

“When my dad arrived he looked really choked up.

“It has definitely brought us all together though and you really get a sense of community. So many well-wishers have said that they missed us being open.

“In many ways it has made us more determined to carry on.”

Chiraag said it is unlikely that the cash machine will be reinstalled and admits takings are down on previous years.

The business has seen its share of ups and downs since the family took the reins in 1986.

In February 1988 masked bandits brandishing sawn-off shotguns got away with £120,000 after holding up a post office van outside the shop.

And in August that year robbers threatened staff before snatching money from the counter while the owners were on holiday.

Mr Shah and his family battled back to win Best Post Office in the North-West at a national award ceremony in 1996.

A further raid in 1999 saw robbers target a Royal Mail security van once again.

But owner Dinesh Shah is keeping positive, and added: “I really can’t put into words how I feel.

“When I first saw the shop after the ram raid I could not believe it, it was very upsetting.

“We will not let anybody win.

“Our customers rely on us and we do not want to let them down, this is my life, my bread and butter and no one can take that away from me.

“We will carry on serving the community that we love.”