A MEAT cleaver found in Newton Poppleford is thought to be one of the weapons used in a terrifying masked raid this week.

A MEAT cleaver found in Newton Poppleford is thought to be one of the weapons used in a terrifying masked raid this week.

Knife-wielding burglars broke into the house of postmaster John Hutchinson in the early hours of Tuesday morning and tied up his wife, Dorcas, and their two teenage children, aged 16 and 19, by the wrists with cable ties and tape.

The three men, who were wearing balaclavas, threatened Mr Hutchinson and forced him to empty the ground-floor safe of around �12,000 before fleeing the scene just after 2am.

Read the full story in this week's Budleigh Journal