A 23-YEAR-old man who took part in a post office raid was jailed for five years yesterday.

Paul Solomon, who was linked to the crime by a finger-print he left at the scene, admitted robbery when he appeared for sentence at Durham Crown Court.

Geoff Taylor, prosecuting, said that Solomon was one of three men involved in the robbery at Ludworth post office, near Durham, in May.

On the day of the raid, the post office and general dealers had just received a delivery of £33,000 cash, he said.

At about 4.30pm, the sub- postmaster was working behind a reinforced glass screen while his wife was looking after the shop, when two men burst in.

Solomon, wearing a motorcycle helmet and carrying an axe, demanded: "Give us your money."

When the postmaster refused, Solomon banged on the screen, and a second man, wearing a balaclava and brandishing a machete, approached the general counter. The postmaster's wife handed over £470.

The two men left with the money, but the raid had been recorded on closed-circuit television.

The recording showed Solomon touching the top of a refrigerator and it was his fingerprint that led to his arrest, said Mr Taylor.

Jamie Adams, defending, said Solomon had expressed deep remorse for what he had done.