WHEN an attempted robber burst into Bridge Stores in Donnington Bridge Road, Oxford, Yang Beh wasn’t to be intimidated.

After refusing to give him any money, she said she dived into the kitchen for safety, and the would-be robber ran off empty-handed.

Mum-of-one Ms Beh, who lives with her 13-year-old son in the city centre, said in retrospect she found the whole thing funny, but admitted she had been scared at the time.

The attempted robbery happened at about 12.50pm on Tuesday.

Ms Beh said the man, who was white, aged about 20, and had thick black eyebrows, had been pacing up and down the road in front of the shop for some time.

She said: “We were very quiet because of the weather, but he made sure there was no one there.

“When he got into the shop he handed me a plastic bag and said ‘put all the money in there’.

“I said ‘are you sure?’ and he said ‘yes!’”

Police said the man was thought to be brandishing a knife, although Ms Beh said it looked like a butter knife.

Realising suddenly that her CCTV was not working that day, she said she subtly tried to get her iPad out to take the man’s picture but it slipped out of her hands. Instead, she leapt for the alarm button by the kitchen door, but missed that as well.

She said: “I was too scared.

“He grabbed my head in a lock, but I slipped out so he didn’t quite get me. At that point I was really scared.”

Oxford Mail:

  • The store in Donnington Bridge Road

She pushed open the kitchen door and dived inside, hoping he would think she was going to fetch help.

In the confusion, not knowing there was nobody else in the store, she said the man fled.

Ms Beh said he had a local accent and was wearing black clothes.

Thames Valley Police have appealed for anyone who may have useful information to call the non-emergency number 101.

Ms Beh, who has worked at the newsagents for 13 years, said the last time anyone made an attempt to rob the store had been about seven years ago.

She said there had been two attempted robberies on the shop around that time.

In the first, offenders made off with cigarettes, but the second time staff were prepared and didn’t hand over anything.


 

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