TWO of the five people arrested in connection with the robbery at a York post office have been released without charge after answering bail.

Police said the other three had all been released on police bail pending further inquiries.

Detectives said the arrests, on December 11 and 12, came after several calls from the public in the wake of The Press's decision to offer a £1,000 reward.

Brian Fletcher, the subpostmaster at Walmgate Bar Post Office - a community hero because of the courteous help he offers to customers - suffered facial injuries during the raid, just as he was shutting up for the day on Tuesday, December 5.

The robbers forced him into the premises, where one pushed him to the floor and tried to gouge his face and eyes, while the other stole a substantial amount of cash in notes.

After The Press offered its reward, the total was boosted by almost £2,000 in pledges from businesses and individuals across York, and an additional, conditional reward of up to £5,000 from the Post Office, bringing the amount on the robbers' heads to almost £8,000.