A man and a youth appeared in court today in connection with an armed robbery at a post office in a quiet village near York.

The pair, who appeared before Leeds Magistrates Court, were accused of conspiracy to commit robberies in West Yorkshire, as well as Tuesday's raid at Rufforth Post Office.

Mark Peter Cambridge, aged 31, of Halton Moor Avenue, Leeds, was remanded in custody until Thursday.

Anthony Martin Hughes, 17, of Coronation Parade, Leeds, was granted conditional bail until September 21.

Earlier today, police disclosed that officers from York and Selby had joined colleagues from the West Yorkshire Police major crimes unit to swoop on properties in Leeds following the Rufforth raid.

The joint police operation recovered a substantial amount of cash from the properties and several items were sent for forensic examination.

Detectives from North Yorkshire carried out the raids in collaboration with others from Halifax and Killingbeck, Leeds. They were backed up by uniformed officers.

Det Insp Phil Metcalfe, of York CID, said inquiries were continuing into the Rufforth post office robbery, in particular with regard to tracing a man believed to have been involved.

Stephen Mackinnon, 58, the owner of the post office and village stores, was praised by police and post office officials for his bravery during the armed robbery.

He managed to deal with the frightening incident as a female assistant ushered a customer out of the shop before they both managed to escape into the back room unscathed.

The arrests are the culmination of a week of shocks for the small community of Rufforth. The post office robbery happened only one day after a well-known villager died in a car crash. Nora Hill, 59, was killed on Monday in a two-car crash on the B1224 Wetherby Road, near York ring road.