Two bungling post office robbers who hid their faces behind sunglasses and made their getaway on bikes have both been jailed for five years.

One of the drunken Irishmen threw a book at a woman assistant and the other brandished an ornamental sword.

They escaped with £100 takings but were arrested by police 45 minutes later at their lodgings in Prospect Road, Redditch.

Recorder Douglas Reddings branded the crime 'incompetent' and said father and son Patrick and Paul Hogan had only plucked up the courage to carry it out after consuming large quantities of alcohol.

But he observed it must have been a terrifying experience for staff at Beoley post office on October 26 last year.

He added: 'It is a type of offence which courts must come down on with some severity because it is necessary to protect people who run small post offices,'

Patrick Hogan, 42, and his 22-year-old son were staying in the town with a family friend before they embarked on the robbery, said Nicolas Cartwright, prosecuting.

The father threw a book at assistant Pamela Hill on entering the post office and newsagent's shop and grabbed £100 from the till.

His son tried to get counter clerk Sheila Premchand to open the post office kiosk door.

When she refused, he attempted to kick it open and eventually broke the glass.

He poked a 2ft long ornamental sword through the hole and made repeated stabbing motions towards Mrs Premchand.

Fragments of glass found on his shoes helped to determine his guilt, said Mr Cartwright.

The pair suddenly stopped their assault and rode off.

Police who arrested them at their lodgings found the sword, sunglasses, money and surgical gloves.

Mrs Premchand was treated for acute stress for several days after the robbery.

But for the seriousness of the offence, the conduct of the robbers would have been 'laughable,' said defence barrister Stefan Kolodynski.

He said the offence was committed out of desperation because the pair could not get work and wanted money to travel back to Ireland. The sword had been used to frighten and not to harm the assistant.

The pair, who had several convictions for dishonesty in Ireland, admitted robbery.