VILLAGERS said today they were stunned by the arrest of their award-winning postmaster who was suspended by bosses following a fraud investigation.

The Oxford Mail revealed in later editions yesterday that Tony Summerfield, 56, who has run Kirtlington Post Office Stores for the past ten years, was arrested on Tuesday by police probing the suspected laundering of up to £450,000.

The arrest followed an investigation by the Post Office. Mr Summerfield was questioned by fraud police and released on bail.

The arrest came just two weeks after Mr Summerfield and his wife Gill, 50, celebrated their

tenth anniversary at the shop in Troy Lane.

In 1994, the couple won £4,000 in a competition run by Woman & Home magazine, to provide bonuses for staff.

A celebratory plaque built into the Cotwold stone wall of the post office offers a welcome to 750 villagers, who are now being advised to get a bus to nearby Bicester.

Regulars at the Oxford Arms described Tony as a "friendly and likeable" man who was someone they trusted.

One local, who asked not to be named, said: "He moved into the village with his wife and daughter and has been made very welcome by us all.

"The store is a central point in the community, a place where everyone stops for a quick chat. It's hard to believe what has happened."

Mr Summerfield's grown-up daughter is understood to have moved out of the village two years ago.

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