Gang lay in wait for shop worker

The 27-year-old woman was tied up and robbed of keys and security codes by three masked men who broke into her home in Ridgefield Road, East Oxford.

The gang confronted her in the kitchen at about 7pm on Thursday.

They pushed her to the ground, threatened her with a knife then tied her up with duct tape.

They demanded security codes and keys to The Money Shop in Cowley Road, which offers cheque cashing, loans and pawnbroking services.

When she handed them over, two of the three men left, with one man remaining at the house.

Shortly afterwards, a group of men went into the shop and opened the safe, but police said they fled empty-handed.

It is believed the woman managed to cut herself free after the man who was guarding her left.

She then knocked on a neighbour’s door for help.

The neighbour, who did not want to be named, said: “She had duct tape around her neck, arms and legs.

“She was very frightened, very distressed and crying.”

The gang, who police said were not known to the victim, broke through a window at the back of the property to get into the semi-detached house.

Police said the victim was tied up for less than an hour.

Yesterday the Cowley Road shop was closed as detectives combed the scene for clues.

Det Ch Insp Paul Hayles said: “Fortunately the victim was not seriously injured in this incident, but has been left very shaken and distressed.

“The offenders were all wearing balaclavas and were dressed in black.

“The man who stayed at the scene was black, and all three of them spoke with either Jamaican or Nigerian accents.”

He added that detectives were now pursuing a number of lines of inquiry – including whether the men had visited the shop as customers in the run-up to the robbery.

Det Ch Insp Hayles added: “It’s difficult to know how much pre-planning has gone into this. It’s obviously been a very upsetting ordeal.”

Anyone with any information should contact Ds Steve Raffield on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.