A village postmaster has told how he was abducted by two armed robbers, driven to his post office and ordered to open its safe.

The victim, who runs Barrow-upon-Soar post office, was forced from his own car and into the robbers' car at gunpoint.

The robbers then drove at speed to Barrow, near Loughborough, where they planned to force the 54-year-old to open the safe.

However, the raid was foiled by two police officers, who had been sent to Barrow to investigate complaints of children throwing snowballs.

The postmaster, who has asked to remain anonymous, was on his way home from work when he was targeted.

"It had been a long day and it was snowing heavily and I'd been up since early," said the man, who lives in Nottingham.

"I just wanted to get home to my family. I'd stopped the car briefly, not far from home, and they approached from behind and put the gun through the open window and started shouting at me to get out of the car.

"They put me into their car and started driving back to Barrow. It's a journey that normally takes about 25 minutes, but they did it in 15.

"They knew where the post office was and pulled up in the alleyway next to it."

However, when they arrived two police officers were patrolling near the post office.

The officers realised something was amiss and challenged the robbers, who fled.

"It was just a coincidence that two police officers were there at the time – apparently they were only there because a member of the public had rang in to complain about children throwing snowballs," said the postmaster.

"They were great because they obviously saw these two men as suspicious so they challenged them. The pair of them just ran away."

The firearm used by the men was later found by police and confirmed as a replica.

"There was some pushing and shoving but they hadn't really been violent towards me," said the victim. "But that might have changed if we had gone into the post office because I wouldn't have been able to open the safe – all post office safes are time-locked.

"It was pretty horrific at the time and I'm still trembling, but I'm getting there slowly but surely."

The man's ordeal began shortly before 8pm on Thursday.

Detectives said the car used to take the postmaster to Barrow post office, in High Street, was a blue Nissan Micra, registration BG61 MYK. It had been stolen from a house in Syston a day earlier.

Detective Constable Rob Buckley said: "This was extremely distressing for the victim and we urge the public to contact us if they witnessed any part of the incident."

The two men were last seen running toward nearby railway lines.

Police want to hear from anyone who saw them on foot or in the car.

The man who had the imitation weapon is white, about 5ft 10in and stocky.

He was wearing a balaclava, black clothing, an anorak-style coat and leather gloves.

His accomplice is slimmer, about 5ft 7in and was also wearing black.

If you have any information, contact Det Con Buckley on 101, or call Crimestoppers, which is anonymous, on 0800 555 111.