UPDATE: Two men continue to be questioned about an attempted armed robbery at a Sunderland Post Office

Ford Post Office where the attempted armed robbery took place.

At around 4.50pm yesterday two men, one carrying a firearm. went into Ford Post Office in Hylton Road.

The men demanded a member of staff hand over cash, he refused and one of the men discharged the firearm before fleeing the store empty handed.

Police outside Ford Post Office in Hylton Road after a section of the street was cordoned off.

Nobody was injured in the incident however the member of staff was left shaken. The men made off in a vehicle which was later located abandoned in St Luke's Road in the city and officers also recovered the firearm used in the incident and discarded clothing, believed to have been worn by the offenders in the same road.

Throughout the night extensive enquiries have been carried out to trace the men believed to be responsible and early this morning police arrested two men, aged 31 and 45, on suspicion of robbery, in a pre-planned operation using various different tactics in Garfield Street in Pallion.

One of the men was taken to hospital for treatment to an injury believed to have been sustained during the attempted robbery.

Southern Area Command Superintendent Paul Milner said: "First of all I would like to praise members of staff who were in the Post Office at the time of the incident, their bravery and quick thinking should be commended. "Throughout the night we have been carrying out extensive enquiries to arrest those believed to be responsible and I'm pleased to say that early this morning we arrested two men. They are now being questioned. "Incidents where a firearm is discharged in these circumstances are incredibly rare, however, we know the local community will quite rightly be concerned and I would like to offer my reassurance that we will have extra officers in the area to answer their concerns. "We recognise there may have been some disruption for the local community and I'd like to thank them for their support and cooperation to enable us to deal with the incident and make these arrests. I would also like to thank the officers involved for their professionalism and tireless work to reassure local residents and get people in custody."

Any witnesses should ring Northumbria Police on 101 quoting reference 768 160117 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.