Group of masked men use crowbar and electrical saw to break into Oxfordshire shop

  • ITV News Meridian's reporter Ciaran Fitzpatrick reports on the break-in

A group of masked men have broken into a shop in Oxfordshire using a crowbar and electrical saw.

Four offenders entered the Spar store in Brize Norton Road, Minster Lovell, in the early hours of this morning (Wednesday 11 September).

Thames Valley Police say they were targeting the internal ATM.

The offenders then left in a vehicle, which is described as grey in colour, although a make and model is currently unknown.

Ian Lewis, is the director of Spar Minster Lovell and his parents live upstairs.

He said: "My dad's been here since 1967. So I guess it comes with the job, but it's just really, really hard for them.

"They've built this business up pretty much from scratch and to be a victim of this is just really difficult to take as a family and the community."

Four offenders entered the Spar store in Brize Norton Road, Minster Lovell, in the early hours of this morning. Credit: ITV News Meridian

He added: "So my mum was awoken by the noise of them trying to get in.

"She thought it was actually the early morning staff arriving so didn't really pay too much attention but then heard the alarm being sounded.

"She woke my dad and as they both come down the stairs they saw the the guys fleeing to the car and making their way away."

Police say nothing was stolen and nobody was injured.

Investigating officer Detective Constable Luke Bessant, of the Witney Priority Crime Team, added: "This has been a distressing incident for the business owners, which has also greatly affected the Minster Lovell community.

"We are appealing to anybody who witnessed this, or who may have dash-cam, CCTV or doorbell footage from the area to please check this and get in touch if it has captured anything that can assist this investigation."

He added: "We are investigating this incident as a priority and will take all the action we can to identify the offenders and bring them to justice."

Anybody with information can contact police online or by calling 101, quoting reference 43240436492.

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