Bitcoin robbers who stormed into a traders house and tied up his girlfriend were left with nothing when his transfer of the crypto-currency failed to reach their account.

Four thugs wearing balaclavas broke into Danny Aston's £800,000 converted barn in Mouslford, rural Oxfordshire, during a terrifying raid.

They held Mr Aston, 30, at gunpoint as they tied up his girlfriend Amy Jay, 31, and put the couple's child outside in a buggy.

The thieves, three black men and one white, battered their victim over the head, while they ordered him to transfer his holding of Bitcoin - a cyber currency currently worth £8,000 per coin.

The village of Moulsford (pictured in a general view), which has featured in several episodes of Midsomer Murders, was the scene for the UK's first armed Bitcoin heist

Mr Aston, who was with another man and his partner at the time, was later taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. His head injuries were not thought to be serious.

The aggravated burglary was described as the UK's first Bitcoin heist.

A spokesman for Thames Valley Police re-appealed for help from the public in tracking down the four attackers who struck soon after 9.30am last Monday.

'At around 9.40am on Monday we received a report that a group of four men entered a residential property in Offlands Court, off Reading Road. The occupant, a man who was outside the property, shouted for help and was pulled into a property,' said the spokesman.

'The offenders threatened the two men and a woman who were inside the property, with what appeared to be a firearm and demanded one of the occupants to transfer Bitcoins electronically to another account.

'The victim was struck to his head but was not seriously injured during the incident. He attended the John Radcliffe Hospital and was later discharged.

'Nothing was stolen during the incident.

'All of the offenders were men - three are black and one is white. They were all wearing tracksuits/sports clothing. Detectives are investigating the circumstances of the aggravated burglary.'

Detectives believe the robbers, who were still being hunted, knew about his fortune because of his prolific trading accounts on the internet.

On just one account, Mr Aston has carried out more than 100,000 trades with 16,375 people in less than three years. He is considered a 'trusted' trader by more than 3,000 users. It is not known how much he was forced to transfer.

Bitcoin exists only in cyberspace and can be exchanged anonymously at the click of a mouse. It is then exchanged for normal money. It is favoured by criminals because it cannot be tracked by officials, making it difficult to catch thieves and money-launderers.

The family have been in hiding since the raid at their attractive rural home, where several episodes of Midsomer Murders have been filmed.

Staff and children were locked inside a nearby independent school, Cranford House, as police used a helicopter to track the suspects and searched the village for clues.

The gunmen forced crypto-currency trader Danny Aston to transfer a fortune in Bitcoin to them on his computer. The barn sits off a main road down a private and residential lane

A mother on the school run said: 'I saw four young men in black tracksuits with the hoods pulled up, crossing the road to the property where it took place. They were aged 18 to 25, dark-skinned and super-fit. They jumped over the fence on the other side of the road.

'I didn't see any gun, but that's what people locally are saying – and that the men wore balaclavas which I didn't see either, just the hoodies pulled up. It was a strange time for them to choose because there are always so many parents coming and going directly opposite. I'd be amazed if more people didn't see them.'

A neighbour said: 'The couple have left and are staying with relatives. They haven't been back since. We are all obviously a bit shaken up, even though a few days have passed now.'

Another resident said: 'The village is in a state of shock. For something like this to happen here is terrifying. It's a very quiet place.'