AN Evesham counter assistant suffered a heart attack after two men carried out a £5,000 armed robbery at the sub post office where she worked.

Mrs Jane Buggin, aged 66, recovered but was forced to give up her job by a crime which turned her life upside down, Worcester Crown Court heard last Friday.

Postmistress Anne Andrew pressed the alarm at Bengeworth post office in Northwick Road, Evesham, despite threats of violence and the robbers ran to a getaway car they had stolen earlier.

Trevor Corbett and his accomplice - who has not been caught - then tried to escape by transferring to a motorbike and a second stolen car but were doggedly pursued by Det Con Eric Summerton before eventually crashing in the village of Wick. The car hit a hedge and ended up on fire.

Corbett, aged 26, of James Watt Drive, Handsworth, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.

He was jailed for seven and a half years and ordered to serve an extra 150 days of an unexpired prison licence.

Judge Peter Stretton told him the effect on both women had been "profound and lasting".

He praised the "vigilance and courage" of DC Summerton and said the defendant might have escaped but for the detective's actions.

Prosecutor Adam Western said the robbery occurred on July 2.

The men were armed with bats and 6ft 2ins tall Corbett kicked in the counter security door.

Corbett also produced a truncheon and threatened both women. He emptied the till and the accomplice grabbed cash from the safe.

The pair got away with £4,010 cash and stamps worth £1,610.

But DC Summerton, called to the scene, saw the men climbing aboard a motorbike.

The 50-year-old officer pushed them off and then grabbed the ignition key. But he suffered a blow to the head.

The robbers then drove to Corporation Meadow car park in Evesham where they snatched a car key from a woman motorist and took her Vauxhall.

Mr Western said DC Summerton was still in pursuit when the car was in a head-on crash with a van.

The defendant drove on and eventually lost control in Wick, careering off the road.

Corbett was caught four hours after the robbery walking towards Evesham.

Mrs Buggin spent eight days in hospital. Mrs Andrew suffered harrowing nightmares afterwards.

Mr Western said Corbett was sentenced to three years' jail after a street robbery in 2001 when the victim was punched in the face and his mobile stolen.

Defence counsel Andrew Baker said Corbett had expressed remorse for a despicable offence and appreciated "the awful consequences for the women".

He was an intelligent man whose life had been blighted by drugs.

Detective Constable Eric Summerton, aged 48, said after the trial: "It was nice to get a pat on the back from the judge but I was only doing my job."

Press officer for West Mercia police, Richard Bull said: "DC Summerton is likely to be recommended for a police commendation.