Reward over post office shooting

Craig Hodson-Walker was shot in the chest. Photo from Facebook.

A reward of £50,000 has been offered by the Post Office to catch the killers of a village sub-postmaster's son.

Craig Hodson-Walker, 29, was shot in the chest and his father, Ken, 56, was shot in the leg during the raid at the store in Fairfield, Worcestershire.

Police believe three men went into Fairfield General Stores on Stourbridge Road with a handgun and sledgehammer while a fourth drove the getaway car.

The mother of the dead man said he died protecting those he loved.

Judy Hodson-Walker, 56, paid tribute to his "incredible bravery" and described the killing as a "callous act".

She said the family were "devastated at the death of our beautiful boy".

She added: "We would like to thank people for their kind wishes and we ask that we are left alone to grieve in peace at this difficult time."

Mr Hodson-Walker's fiancee, Lisa Bundy, described him as her soulmate and best friend, adding her future had been destroyed by the killing.

Witnesses sought

Police believe three men went into the store with their faces covered and a fourth stayed with a silver Volkswagen Golf outside.

One was about 6ft tall, white with a dark hooded top and tracksuit bottoms. The other two were shorter and also wearing dark clothing.

Fairfield has been described as a quiet village

They all had balaclavas or scarves covering their faces. The driver was a white man with a hooded top and a scarf which was pulled up over his face.

The West Mercia force, which has launched a murder investigation, said about 100 detectives and other staff have been working on the case.

Ken Hodson-Walker was in a stable condition in hospital following surgery on Friday.

A post-mortem examination on the body of Craig Hodson-Walker was due to take place on Sunday.

'Absolutely devastated'

Horace Lynton, 55, who runs The Swan pub in Fairfield with his wife Francine, said the family's business had been targeted before - more than a year ago as the family were upstairs in their home.

He said Mr Hodson-Walker and his father confronted the robbers, who had broken in through the shop door.

They work their socks off and I think when you work as hard as that you do not want to give it all away to robbers Francine Lynton

Mr Lynton said: "The alarm went off and they came down to investigate and the father and son tackled whoever had broken in and they ran away."

Mrs Lynton, 53, added: "They work their socks off and I think when you work as hard as that you do not want to give it all away to robbers."

Carol Edwards, who lives near the shop and knows the family, said: "They're very helpful, cheerful, happy, nice people and they tend to put themselves out, particularly for the older people - very patient and helpful.

"They must be absolutely devastated by what's happened."

A police spokesman said officers believed the Golf car may have been seen parked and unoccupied in Bournheath Road before the robbery.

The vehicle was found intact in the road a short time after the shooting.

Officers want to speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area around the time of the raid at 0820 GMT on Friday.

'Heartbreaking act'

A number of robberies have occurred in the Bromsgrove area over the past several months, police said.

Detectives are investigating whether the shooting is linked to three or four other robberies.

A Post Office spokesman said: "We are shocked and appalled at this terrible attack against hard-working people serving the whole community and we are very concerned for the family and will be doing all we can to help them."

George Thompson, general secretary for the National Federation of SubPostmasters, said it was a "heartbreaking act" and "absolutely outrageous".

He said: "People have destroyed the family with this despicable act and this is a hard-working family that just tried to get on, provide the good service for the local communty."

Roger Hollingworth, from Bromsgrove District Council, said Fairfield was "such a quiet village" and it had "devastated the people there".