A village post master who was the victim of an armed raid claims police were too slow to reach his shop.

Nigel Horsfall, of Eldwick Post Office, says officers took about 20 minutes to respond to his call for help after he was threatened by two men brandishing handguns.

By that time the men had made their getaway in a silver-coloured Rover 75.

The raiders burst into the post office and general store at 2pm last Thursday and demanded cash.

One man pointed a small barrelled black handgun at Mr Horsfall and a second raider leaned over the shoulder of his partner and pointed a second handgun. The men left the shop empty handed after they saw Mr Horsfall press the alarm button. He followed them and saw them get into the Rover and make off towards Bingley.

Mr Horsfall said: "Police took about 20 minutes to reach the shop. It's too long.

"These thieves must know how long it takes the police - it doesn't take much logic to work out how long it will take to get from Keighley to Eldwick."

Mr Horsfall said he was aware of other instances where police had taken up to 20 minutes to reach the scene of a crime.

And he claimed other village post office and small-shop owners would also feel vulnerable.

The two raiders drove off in the direction of Bingley in the Rover - registration number Y782 SGM - which officers believe was seen near Burley-in-Wharfedale Post Office at 11.50pm the same day. No incident occurred there.

A police spokesman said the response call should have been answered within 15 minutes because it was graded as immediate. Officers arrived within 16 minutes.

"The information we received indicated that the offenders had left the scene, so our response was geared to making a search for the offending vehicle," she said.

The raiders are believed to be mixed race and aged about 20.

The first man was about 6ft 3ins tall and wearing a dark jacket and sun glasses. The second man was a similar height.