A PUB landlord says he is still shaking after masked raiders threatened him with a gun and hammer before stealing £16,000.

Rick Windell, 42, was cashing up when he was forced to hand over a week’s takings from The Hobgoblin, in Cowley Road, Oxford.

Last night he insisted the pub was still safe for drinkers, calling the raid a “one-off”.

Two men broke in through a window between 11pm and 11.30pm on Sunday night, before fleeing with the cash.

Mr Windell said: “I was cashing up and just about to join my staff, who had gone for a drink in Cowley Road, when the men burst in.

“They threatened me with a pistol and hammer, so I just handed all the money straight over. It was a no-brainer. Money can be replaced, but my health cannot.”

Mr Windell, who took over the tenancy three-and-a-half years ago, believes the intruders had been watching the pub.

He said: “The men knew exactly when to come in. I have no doubt it was a professional job.

“Everything was well planned and I expect they had been watching my movements.

“They were wearing hard masks on their faces, which was quite strange. I have never seen anything like that before.”

Mr Windell said he had run pubs in Manchester, Sheffield and London in the past 14 years, but this was the first time he had been a robbery victim.

He said: “It was terrifying, I’m still shaking. This has never happened to me in all the years I have been a landlord.”

Mr Windell, who lives above the pub, urged his customers not to be put off. He said: “This is the quietest pub I have ever had and it is still perfectly safe for drinkers.

“This was a one-off event and could have happened at any other pub in Oxford. I was just unlucky.”

Matt Morton, an Oxford city councillor for St Mary’s ward, which includes the pub, said the raid was unusual.

He said: “This sort of incident could happen anywhere and it’s not something which is indicative of Cowley Road. The Hobgoblin is a laidback place that attracts a wide variety of customers and I think most people will realise that they are as safe there as anywhere.”

Police are treating the incident as aggravated burglary.

The robbers were white, in their forties and were wearing dark clothing, as well as the masks.

One was wearing white trainers and carrying an olive shoulder bag.

Dc Nick Hills, who is investigating the robbery, said: “The Cowley Road would have been fairly busy at this time of night.

“I appeal to anyone who saw two men acting suspiciously near the pub just after closing time to contact police.”

  • Anyone with information should call Dc Hills on 08458 505505, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.