A shooting on an Oxford estate may have been a bungled robbery or mistaken identity, police revealed today.

Police remain at the house in Brampton Road, Barton, where a shot was fired at the front door at about 10.40pm on Tuesday.

Two men knocked on the door asked the 59-year-old man who answered to confirm his name.

One of the men then pulled out a medium-sized handgun.

But the intended victim instinctively slammed the door shut, knocking the weapon as it went off.

The bullet missed the father-of-three by inches, passing through some coats and hitting a wall.

The two men sped off in a dark-coloured hatchback car, believed to be Volkswagen Golf or a Polo.

Det Chief Insp Colin Paine said: “I would like the pubic to remain conscious this has happened, but be reassured this type of incident is extremely rare.

“We have a team of over 20 detectives working on this case and are investigating every possibility to ensure that we catch the two men responsible.

“Fortunately the victim was not injured and is now staying at an address outside the county.

“We are considering a number of different possible motivations for this offence — whether an attempted murder, mistaken identity or a robbery gone wrong.

“However, we are still in the early stages of the investigation and pursuing a large number of different lines of inquiry and urge anyone, with any information, to contact us.”

One of the men was described as Asian or of mixed race, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 9in tall, and was wearing smart clothing, including a grey top and black blazer.

The victim did not manage to get a description of the man with the gun.

Anyone with information should call police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.