Link probed in new armed raid (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Link probed in new armed raid

THAMES Valley police are investigating a possible link between a petrol station robbery in Witney last Saturday and the armed robbery in which 13 staff were taken hostage at the Co-op supermarket in Chipping Norton last month.

Both robberies bear remarkably similar hallmarks, with four men wearing balaclavas forcing their way into the Tesco Express service station in Eynsham, Witney, between 5.30am and 6.15am, before bundling four staff into a back room, where they were tied up.

The robbers then forced open a safe and stole several thousand pounds before escaping through a back door.

In the Co-op robbery, which happened on Monday, January 23, four men wearing balaclavas struck at around 5am, taking shop workers, cleaning staff and delivery men hostage one-by-one as they arrived for work.

The staff, who were threatened with a sawn-off shotgun by one of the robbers, were taken to a staff room, where they had their hands taped up. The robbers made a 13th hostage - a 46-year-old woman - unlock the door to the cash room and safe before making their getaway with thousands of pounds.

In both incidents, one member of staff suffered a blow to the head though neither was seriously hurt. In the latest robbery, the staff member was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. The Chipping Norton victim, a delivery man in his 40s, was treated for concussion at the Horton Hospital in Banbury.

Police spokeswoman Kate Smith confirmed that CID officers were not ruling out links between the latest robbery in Witney and the one in Chipping Norton.

However, she added: "There is nothing at the moment to suggest a direct link."

Steve Duffy, from Banbury CID, who is leading the investigation into the Witney incident, said: "The money taken was all held in either red, green, yellow or blue bags that were secured with plastic ties and we're particularly keen to trace those bags."

The Co-op is offering a £10,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest of the Chipping Norton gang.

Anyone with information should call DS Duffy via 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.