Raiders plough Jeep into post office

Police sealed off the post office for tests

Police are hunting a gang of ram raiders who ploughed into the front of a village post office and ripped out the cash machine before speeding off.

Three men smashed a silver Jeep straight through the front wall of the shop and leapt inside the hole.

They fixed a chain to the cash machine and used the car to wrench it free from the shop near Banbury in Oxfordshire at 0300 GMT on Tuesday.

The gang sped off in the Jeep Cherokee Estate west along the A361 towards Chipping Norton, Barfords or Tadmarton.

'Sized up'

Police sealed off the shop in High Street, Bloxham, for forensic tests.

Detective Sergeant Steve Convey from Banbury CID said: "It was over in a matter of minutes.

"As soon as the emergency calls came in police patrol cars were dispatched to cover roads throughout the area to try and trace the Jeep.

"If anybody saw this distinctive silver Jeep overnight in the area they should let us know.

"There is no doubt that the gang has been sizing up the post office and we will welcome details of any suspicious strangers seen in Bloxham recently."