A SHOP at a petrol station near Bicester was reportedly cordoned off by police after being raided by burglars. 

Several residents have told the Oxford Mail the Londis garage at Hopcrofts Holt, between Bicester and Chipping Norton, was shut yesterday after a break-in overnight on Friday.

One regular customer understood thieves had ripped out the cash machine, and said it had only been installed recently after another break-in at the same shop several months ago.

The alleged burglary, which has not yet been corroborated by police or staff at the shop, comes after a spate of similar incidents at shops around the county. 

He said the shop, which is at the junction of the A4260 Oxford Road and the B4030, had reopened today.

Another man, who passed the shop yesterday, said: "A police van was there with a cordon, taping off the area around the whole garage and forecourt, which was closed.

"The door had a metallic barrier [shutter] on, which I presume is brought down every night to protect the garage, and this had been ripped up from the bottom, leaving a gap to get through underneath.

"The window of the shop to the left of the door was also badly damaged, and there was debris around the forecourt."

A staff member at the Holt Hotel, situated opposite the shop, said she had seen police at the garage yesterday but was not sure of the circumstances.

The Oxford Mail has not yet been able to reach the shop for comment.

Thames Valley Police has been approached for information. 

Last week the force appealed for witnesses after a Jeep was used to haul a cash machine from the Co-op in Grove.

The gang of thieves had prised open the metal shutter to the shop and snuck underneath.

Earlier this month ram-raiders targeted the Co-op in Charlbury, attempting to take the cash machine on January 2 but failing.

Police have not confirmed if the incidents are linked.