POLICE have cordoned off a post office in Littlemore this morning after another suspected ATM raid attempt.

The front bars of the branch in Cowley Road, Littlemore, have been mangled out of shape and the cash machine has been smashed but is still in place. 

UPDATE: Police looking for black Audi that fled scene - DETAILS HERE 

The owners of the business said the ATM, which was installed in 2014 after a community campaign, has been destroyed beyond use but the thieves appear to have been unsuccessful in stealing any money. 

One neighbour was woken during the night by the sounds of people attempting to break in. 

He said: "Just before 3am I heard a loud bang and the sound of a car, then loud whirring.

"I looked out the window and saw someone with what must have been an angle grinder or similar as there were lots of sparks.

"[They were] trying to get through the door for the post office.

"At that point I called 999 and got the police to come out. A fire engine also turned up at about 3.10ish."

Oxford Mail:

Officers remain stationed outside the branch which is situated just next to the bypass.

The man said he felt the gang had tried to rip the bars off the door and get inside but had seemingly failed. 

The person with the angle grinder had been concentrating on trying to break down the door, rather than attack the cash machine, according to the man.

Oxford Mail:

Moazzam Iqbal, the son of owner Munawar Iqbal, said at 11am that they were waiting for a police forensics team to arrive before being allowed in to assess the damage.

He said: "We are still trying to investigate. All we know is they tried to get in last night at around 2.55am. 

"We have a security system which informs us when anything happens and we were on the site within 10 minutes by which time police were already there.

"The whole thing was over in less than three minutes. It appears a group tried to get in but couldn't. We don't know how much damage there has been inside yet."

The cash machine was installed in 2014 after a community campaign which was backed by then MP Andrew Smith.

Mr Iqbal had it put in during a refurbishment to save people from travelling to Sainsbury’s in Heyford Hill or paying a £2 fee to withdraw cash from another machine in Cowley Road.

Oxford Mail:

Sub-Postmaster Munawar Iqbal with the cash machine when it was installed in 2014

Moazzam Iqbal said the post office would look to install a new cash machine as soon as possible and will be beefing up security arrangements still further. 

He said: "We're a family run business and will have to deal with everything ourselves. 

"We've seen the reports of this happening to other businesses but it was unexpected. 

"You never know, it could happen anywhere."

A woman who works nearby said there was glass on the floor and the metal bars had been snapped when she arrived for work this morning. 

The whole post office site has been cordoned off but other businesses in the row of shops have been able to open as usual.

Abdul Ghaffar, the owner of the Littlemore Mini Market next door to the post office, said he thought the thieves had aborted their attempt to steal the cash point for unknown reasons. 

When he arrived to open the shop at 8am, police had already closed off the site and were not allowing the owner in to assess the damage.

He said he has been able to open as normal and there were two officers outside the shop at around 9.15am.