Police warn shopkeepers after Eynsham robbery (From Witney Gazette)

Police warn shopkeepers after Eynsham robbery

2:13pm Tuesday 21st February 2006 in Witney

POLICE warned shops to be on guard amid fears that a gang of violent robbers is behind a spate of raids.

The alert came after police admitted masked robbers who raided an Eynsham petrol station and tied up staff on Saturday, February 18, could be the same gang who hit a store in Buckingham 24 hours earlier.

Detectives have also not ruled out the possibility the same gang may have been the raiders who tied up staff and robbed a Co-op in Chipping Norton last month. Det Sgt Steve Duffy, who is leading the investigation into the Eynsham robbery, said: "Anyone working for a business in an isolated or rural location should take precautions early in the morning. If you have set patterns of activity, change them.

"Do everything you can to frustrate these criminals, who are obviously terribly determined and resourceful, and are prepared to use violence to do their crimes." On Saturday, four balaclava-clad robbers tied up staff, before making off with thousands of pounds from the Tesco Express and Esso garage store, near Eynsham, between 5.30am and 6am. Detectives believe the robbers could be the same four offenders who raided a Tesco Express in Buckingham at 5.20am on Friday.

They confronted a manager, forced him into the store and made him open the safe, before making off with a substantial amount of cash.

Det Sgt Duffy said: "Certainly there are great similarities between the two offences, and we are liaising with colleagues in Aylesbury to tie up and cross-reference all lines of inquiry."

"We are appealing to people who would be up, tradesmen, milkmen, and people who walk their dogs in these areas to contact us if they saw anything suspicious."

Det Sgt Steve Duffy

He said officers would examine CCTV footage of the robberies.

In the attack on the Co-op supermarket in High Street, Chipping Norton, four raiders in balaclavas and armed with a sawn-off shotgun seized 12 staff and kept them tied up for an hour on January 23.

They are believed to have made off on motorcycles, with £30,000, shortly after 6.30am.

Det Sgt Duffy said: "We are not consciously linking it, but we are looking at similarities between the two offences. It is early days on the investigation, and we wouldn't like to speculate, but a possible link with the Chipping Norton robbery is a line of inquiry we are taking."

He appealed for information about the robberies. He said: "Even if it is a small detail, they won't be wasting police time by getting in touch. We can make a decision about whether the information is important.

"It is often bits of trivia which help us move these investigations on. These were early-morning offences, committed when most people were not up and about. We are appealing to people who would be up, tradesmen, milkmen, and people who walk their dogs in these areas to contact us if they saw anything suspicious."

Anyone with information can contact police, on 08458 505505, or Crimestoppers, on 0800 555111.