MINDLESS vandals superglued shut a door of a Post Office in Colchester as part of a “traumatic” crime which resulted in customers having to be turned away.

Highwoods Post Office, located in Highwoods Square, was targeted by crooks sometime between Sunday evening and Monday morning.

During the childish prank they filled one of the shop’s locks with glue which, once hardened, destroyed the security device’s locking mechanism.

As a result, staff were unable to gain access to the shop and so the decision was made to refrain from opening.

Gazette:

A spokeswoman for the Post Office said: "Highwoods Post Office and shop has been unable to open due to mindless vandalism, with a lock being superglued.

“The branch is currently temporarily closed but the Postmaster is working hard to restore service as soon as possible.”

No other nearby shops are believed to have suffered the same fate as the Post Office, and the Oak Tree Coffee House told the Gazette: “Thankfully, our premises is fine.”

Regardless, Gerard Oxford, Colchester councillor for Highwoods, says he has been left disgusted and infuriated by the incident.

He said: “The Post Office is a very well used service and many people, especially the elderly, can rely on it.

“I saw a lot of people walking away and some said to me they could not go shopping because they were unable to draw their money out.

Gazette:

“The delivery of newspapers was delayed too and that might have made the paperboys and girls late for school – so it had a knock-on effect.

“It is a brainless thing to do and whoever did this is an idiot because what the heck are they even getting out of it? It is just senseless.”

Determined to bring those responsible to justice, Post Office bosses have now vowed to work closely with Essex Police.

"The people who run Post Office branches provide important services to local communities,” added the spokeswoman.

“This type of crime is traumatic for the retailer and causes inconvenience for customers.

“We will be supporting the police and urge anyone with information to contact the police or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.”