A WOULD-BE robber brandishing a gun was sent packing by a plucky Malvern postmistress who told him to "stop being silly".

Christine Kenyon was confronted by the gunman as she worked at the counter of Malvern Wells post office.

The raider, who used his jumper and woolly hat to hide his face, pushed the weapon under the counter's screen and demanded money.

He also became involved in a scuffle with a customer and threatened the postmistress's husband, John, before fleeing.

"I cannot believe I managed to stay so calm through out it all," said Mrs Kenyon.

"When he pointed the firearm at me and demanded money I decided it was a fake, so I said 'stop being so silly, we're only a small post office' and he ran out.

"My husband ran out after him very quickly, but he'd vanished."

Her ordeal began at 3.15pm on Wednesday, when the robber went into the post office and pointed the firearm at her.

But Mrs Kenyon, who has owned the Wells Road post office for eight years, thought it was a joke until a customer walked in and was threatened by him.

"The robber told the customer to get down and there was a bit of a scuffle," she said.

"I was trying to get my husband's attention, who was working in his office below the post office, by stamping on the floor. He came up and was faced with the robber pointing the firearm at him.

"I nearly told my husband I thought it was a fake, but I didn't want the robber to prove it wasn't.

"He then pointed the gun at me again and made the demand for money. But he seemed more nervous than me and, when I told him to stop being silly, he ran out."

The raider is described as being a white male in his 20s or 30s, wearing dark clothing and a dark woolly hat.

Det Sgt John Wallis, of Malvern police, appealed for anyone with information to contact him or DC John Lawrence on 01905 723888 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.