Two brothers face being jailed for taking part in a £6,000 post office raid.

Ryan Marshall, 21, was told he faces a substantial prison sentence for carrying out the robbery with his friend Shoeb Karim.

They held up the branch at Sunnyside Store in Dunnings Lane, East Grinstead, wearing balaclava masks and brandishing imitation guns.

Luke Marshall, 18, was waiting nearby in a second car to receive the cash and take it away.

He was cleared of robbery but convicted of handling stolen goods by a jury at Hove Crown Court yesterday.

Karim, who had already admitted his part in the hold-up and gave evidence against the Marshalls, was arrested two hours after the raid on July 14.

The judge praised the speed of the arrest and the way in which police reacted.

The Marshalls of St Joan Close, Crawley, and Karim, of Charlock Close, Crawley, will be sentenced on May 25. Ryan Marshall was remanded in custody but his brother was granted bail.

Richard Barton, prosecuting, told the jury during the three-week trial that the raid was planned by Ryan Marshall, Shoeb Karim and another of their friends.

He said Luke Marshall was a last-minute replacement when the third man pulled out.

Mr Barton told the jury sub-postmistress Muriel Whittington and assistant Patricia Brehme were confronted by two armed men shortly after they opened the shop on July 14.

He said: "The men were both wearing black balaclava masks and both brandishing black imitation handguns.

"Ryan Marshall pointed the gun at Muriel Whittaker who at first thought it was a joke and told them to stop fooling around.

"He told her to put the money into a bag and told two customers who came in to sit on a set of steps. Muriel Whittaker put nearly £6,000 in £10 notes into the bag and once the money had been taken Karim took some lottery scratch cards from the other counter."

Both men fled from the shop and jumped into a turquoise Vauxhall Corsa which had been left outside with its engine running.

Witnesses saw the car stop in nearby Coombe Hill Road where a white Vauxhall Corsa belonging to Luke Marshall was waiting.

A bag which contained the proceeds of the robbery was handed over from the turquoise Corsa to the white car.

Mr Barton told the jury the turquoise car only had a front number plate with the registration E533 RUH.

A traffic warden heard a description of the car over his radio and recognised the number as one from a wrecked car he had given a ticket to in Crawley.

He was able to tell police that the car they were looking for was likely to be carrying a false number plate.

Mr Barton said: "David Lees, a customer at the post office, saw the late stages of the robbery.

"He had seen the turquoise car outside the post office two weeks before and had written down the number.

"He went back home after the robbery and got the note and was able to give the car's real number, L238 JND, to the police.

"It was circulated and was associated with Shoeb Karim who was stopped two hours later by armed police outside his home in Broadfield, Crawley.

"The balaclava, guns and some of the lottery scratch cards were in a bag in the car and £1,975 was found in his jacket."

Mobile phone records showed that calls were made from phones belonging to the Marshall brothers in East Grinstead around the time of the robbery.

Ryan Marshall claimed Karim had asked to borrow their phones to make a delivery in return for free food from his family's takeaway shop in Crawley.

He told the jury Karim had later told police he and his brother were involved in the raid to cover-up for someone else.

Luke Marshall told the jury he had been to East Grinstead on the morning of the raid to find out about renting a market stall for their clothes business.

He said he had got lost, stopped to ask for directions and then returned to Crawley after failing to find the town hall.

Judge Austin Issard-Davies said: "One of the things which has been most impressive has been the speed with which the police absorbed and reacted to information in this case.

"I think anyone would be impressed by the process in which a robbery took place at 9.20am and a police officer was making an arrest at 11.15am.

"That, I think, shows a very impressive ability to absorb and react to information."

Detective Inspector Andy Griffith, who led the investigation, said he was pleased that the actions of the police and the traffic warden involved had been recognised.

He said: "I am very pleased also that the jury listened attentively to the evidence and brought back the verdict they did."