Armed robber with firearm targets Banbury town centre shop - and then nearly gets hit by lorry as he flees

An armed robber burst into a Banbury mobile phone shop during a busy Saturday afternoon - and then nearly got hit by a lorry as he fled the scene.

The attacker is believed to have had a firearm and demanded mobile phones from staff at JOJO's Mobiles and Computers on George Street at around 4pm yesterday (Saturday).

As he fled the shop, he ran into the path of a lorry, which had to brake sharply to avoid hitting him.

Thames Valley Police are today appealing for witnesses to come forward.

They said: "No one was injured and the man made off with a small number of mobile phones.

"The offender is described as a black man, around 5ft 6ins tall, skinny build, wearing a black hoodie, black tracksuit bottoms and wearing a black mask, he was also carrying a black backpack."

Chief Inspector Rob Platt, said: “This was a concerning incident as such we are carrying out a thorough investigation.

“As such we are asking anyone with information to please come forward, particularly anyone who may have CCTV or dash-cam footage.

“We are aware that when the offender left the premises he ran in front of a lorry which had to make an emergency stop. We would ask this driver to please contact us in case they have dash-cam footage or any other witness information.”

“Members of the public will see an increased police presence while we continue our enquiries.”

“If anyone does have CCTV or dash-cam footage we would ask them to upload it to our online portal or if you have information please call 101 quoting reference 43240181472.”

“Or if you do not wish to speak to police then you can contact Crimestoppers 100 per cent anonymously on 0800 555 111.”