Four Preston men have been jailed for an armed robbery at a Post Office.

Post master Mohamed Iqbal was one of the four men during the inside job at Rishton Post Office.

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Two men entered the building in June 2015 dressed in CSI suits.

Footage released by Lancashire Police following the trial at Burnley Crown Court, shows the events unfold.

The two men, brothers Terry and Jason Yarwood, came into the building armed with a hand gun.

They dragged Iqbal into the back room where they tied his hands and feet with cable ties.

A safe was emptied and more than £185,000 in cash taken.

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Investigations by police revealed the postmaster Iqbal had been in contact with the Yarwood brothers in the early hours of the morning of the robbery when a CCTV camera at the rear of the Post Office had been disabled.

Telephone and ANPR evidence also showed that the Yarwood brothers had travelled from Preston to Rishton at the time the camera was disabled. The investigation identified a further associate of the Yarwoods, Avaiz Samad, who had been recruited as the getaway driver.

What sentences did they receive?

During the trial in November last year Mohammed Iqbal, 33, of Maple Crescent, Broadgate, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft. He was sentenced to two years and four months in prison.

Terry Yarwood, 36, of Trafford Street, Plungington, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit theft and received the same sentence as Iqbal.

Jason Yarwood, 40, of Deepdale Road, Deepdale, pleaded guilty on the same charge and received two years and 10 months in prison.

Getaway driver Aviaz Samad, 23, of Blackpool Road, Deepdale, pleaded not guilty to the same charge and was found guilty following the trial. He received three years in prison.

What the police say

DI Simon Upton of Lancashire Police said: “Today’s sentences are the culmination of a long and complex investigation into what at first appeared to be a genuine armed robbery at the Post Office.

“While our enquiries soon established that the “robbery” was in fact planned by Mohammed Iqbal who worked at the Post Office and his associates Jason and Terry Yarwood and Avaiz Samad, it must have been extremely frightening and unsettling for the local community at the time to hear reports of an armed robbery in their local area.

“I hope that today’s result brings the community some peace of mind now that those involved have been jailed. Although we disproved that it was a genuine armed robbery we still took the matter very seriously and left no stone unturned until those responsible were brought to justice.”