THREE men have been found guilty of a shocking raid on Newton Poppleford s Post Office last year, which rocked the tight-knit community.

THREE men have been found guilty of a shocking raid on Newton Poppleford's Post Office last year, which rocked the tight-knit community.

They were convicted of numerous robberies and burglaries across the south and south west, including the horrific attack on the postmaster and his family.

Mursel Haziri, Tony Marshall and Farhad Hajilou were all found guilty of conspiracy to rob.

Haziri, 30, and Marshall, 33, were also convicted of conspiracy to burgle.

The men will be sentenced on June 28 at Winchester Crown Court.

A fourth man, James Roger Barre, who pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing in connection to the offences, will be sentenced at a later date.

During the Newton Poppleford burglary, the postmaster's family were tied up by the knife-wielding gang who made off with around �12,000. Acting Detective Sergeant Chris Willsdon, of Honiton CID, said: "Following an extensive investigation by a number of police forces in the south and south west of England, three people were found guilty of conspiracy to burgle and rob, which included the incident on the Newton Poppleford Post Office in July 2009.

"The Newton Poppleford incident was an appalling offence against a local man and his family running a local business who are well known within the community.

"It was perpetrated by people from outside our community and is a very rare incident in the East Devon area."

The men were tried over five weeks at Winchester Crown Court and the jury delivered its guilty verdict last Friday.

During the trial, it was revealed the men committed the string of offences during a two-month spree.

In a chilling similarity to the Newton Poppleford burglary they also tied-up their victims during a raid on a post office in the New Forest last June.

ADS Willsdon added: "The investigation, which involved a number of police forces, was intricate and complex and took a great deal of work to get it to charging stage and then to crown court. Devon and Cornwall Constabulary was pleased to play its part.

"East Devon is one of the safety places in the country to live and it remains so, and we are happy that the perpetrators have been caught and are to be convicted of such a serious offence."

Haziri, of no fixed abode, Marshall, of Bradby Avenue in Wembley, London, and Hajilou, of Temple Road, London have all been remanded in custody. Barre, 30, is in remand at HMP Bedford.