VILLAGE postmasters across North Yorkshire have vowed to stay at their jobs - despite fears they could be the next target for robbers.

Since Helmsley Post Office was raided by masked men a week ago, three nearby villages have lost their community office.

The sub-postmasters in Hovingham, Nawton and Brandsby have all said that support from the Post Office had been so scarce they were no longer prepared to carry on.

Martin Alden, from Bulmer, outside Malton, said he could understand their actions.

"We are obviously concerned about the situation," he said.

"But I am not personally getting paranoid about it - I just think there is a spate at the moment and there have been spates in the past."

Mr Alden said that although he was finishing at the post office this week to concentrate on another business, someone else was stepping straight into the job.

He said his staff were staying on.

Strensall postmaster Richard Horseman, who has been in the job for 15 years, said: "I would totally agree with the people who have resigned.

"Until the Post Office realise that they are underpaying their postmasters, they are going to lose them.

"I have been a postmaster for 15 years and this is the worst I have seen it."

The Evening Press contacted several other post offices, but they were unwilling to speak on the record.

But a spokesman for the Post Office said it did keep in close contact with the sub postmasters.

"In response to what's happened in the past few days, security managers have been visiting a number of branches across North Yorkshire to remind sub postmasters of the security procedures they should be following," he said.

"They will hopefully reassure sub postmasters that we do take security seriously.

"There's an onus on Post Office Limited and we do our best - there's also an onus on the sub postmasters."

Updated: 12:41 Wednesday, January 22, 2003