A Post Office worker was shot dead today and his father seriously injured during an armed robbery at their village shop by three balaclava-clad men.

Craig Hodson-Walker was shot during the robbery at the family run Fairfield Stores in Fairfield, near Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, at 8.20am. He was prounounced dead 40 minutes later.

His father Ken was shot in the leg by the men, who were armed with a handgun and a sledgehammer, and is being treated in hospital.

The Welsh family, including mother Judy and another child, are said to have moved to the area some years ago.

David Green, a builder who lives 100 yards from the shop, said that the parents were believed to be in their fifties, and their son and daughter in their twenties.

“Everybody knows everybody here. They are a lovely family, just lovely people really. We always have a little chat.”

He said police had cordoned off the road just outside his home and were making door-to-door inquiries.

Locals described Fairfield as a small but friendly village. It is close to the M5 and M42 motorways, with some residents commuting to Birmingham and Worcester.

Villagers said that they knew little about the shooting, and police had simply told them that they were dealing with a “major incident”.

The shop is opposite a primary school, which closed and sent pupils home as police, assisted by their force helicopter, scoured the area looking for the gunmen.

West Mercia Police said: “Police can confirm a man has died after being shot during an armed robbery near Bromsgrove in north Worcestershire this morning.

“It happened at about 8.20am at Fairfield Stores, Stourbridge Road, in Fairfield. Two men are believed to have been shot. One man was shot in the chest and died at about 9am. The other was shot in the leg. Initial information is that there were three offenders wearing balaclavas and armed with a handgun and a sledgehammer.

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