DETECTIVES investigating a string of armed raids at post offices across the North-East raided a house on Merseyside today.

Officers from Durham Constabulary, backed up by colleagues from Merseyside Police, arrested a 30-year-old man at a house in the Sefton Park area of Liverpool shortly after 9am.

The man, who has until recently been living on Wearside, was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and brought back to Peterlee Police Station for questioning.

A second man was later detained after officers stopped his Mercedes car on the A19 in County Durham. The 37-year-old, from the Seaham area, is tonight being questioned at Durham City Police Station.

Today's arrests follow a three-month investigation involving 40 officers at its height, following a series of three armed robberies in a matter of weeks.

On December 8, two masked men, one armed with a shotgun, raided the post office in Front Street, in Wingate. They threatened the 60-year-old postmaster and escaped with £1,700 and a quantity of giro cheques before escaping in a white Vauxhall Astra van later found burnt out in Wheatley Hill.

On December 23, two masked men, again one armed with a shotgun, fled empty-handed from Trimdon Station post office after the manageress hit a panic alarm. A dark green Vauxhall Vectra was later found in flames at Wingate Nature Reserve.

The third raid took place at Elwick Village, in Hartlepool, on January 26 when two masked men threatened the postmaster and escaped with £2,000 and a small quantity of foreign currency. They escaped in a Fiat Punto, found burned out on Coal Lane, Hartlepool.