Police are appealing for information to help catch dangerous armed robbers who struck for the 13th time in Oxfordshire, hitting a store owner over the head with a gun.

The appeal comes after an armed robber beat the owner of the Londis store in High Street, Wheatley, at about 7pm on Monday, before escaping with cash from the till.

Shop owner Paul McLoughlin, 63, refused to hand over the money and was repeatedly hit on the head with the gun until he backed down. The robber then ran off with a small amount of cash from the till.

Mr McLoughlin, who needed eight stitches to his head, said: “At first I thought it was a joke and someone from the village was messing around, so I said what are you playing at? That’s when the barrel of the gun was pushed into my cheek pretty hard and I realised he wasn’t messing around.

“But out of instinct, I went round the front of the till to confront him and tried to get hold of his arm, but he kept hitting me on the head with the butt of the gun. In the end I just let him have the money. I’m not sure what happened – I think my assistant might have opened the till and given him the money.

“I have always told my staff don’t retaliate or do anything stupid. With any armed robbery, just give them the money, it’s not worth it. But it was just my instinct to protect my business. I just thought I had to try to get the gun off him.”

Officers believe this latest incident could be linked to 12 other armed robberies across the county since December, including a raid at the BP garage in Marston, Oxford, on Friday.

Although the attack at Londis was carried out by one robber, it is thought he was working with an accomplice and police have put shopkeepers on red alert.

Det Insp Simon Morton, leading the investigation, said: “If anyone sees people acting suspiciously near a commercial premises, do not approach them as they could be dangerous, but call the police.”

Mr McLoughlin said: “It was an affront on me and my business. I have been here 22 years and the community has always been really supportive.

“He was a particularly vicious character by the way he was hitting me with the gun. You could tell he was quite psyched up for it.

“We will have to look at security but I’m not selling up because that would means he has won.”

The offender was white, in his mid-20s and wore dark clothing.

Det Insp Morton added: “I would like to reassure the public that we have a number of officers dedicated to this investigation and a lot of work is being carried out to track down and arrest the person responsible.”

Anyone with information should call Det Sgt Russell Simpson on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

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