Police have released a picture of three men they want to speak to after a Marlow shop manager was left with injuries to her shoulder and back, when she was reportedly attacked by a gang of shoplifters as she tried to stop them from escaping, just days before Christmas.

Police said Louise Lowe, who is the manager at the Space NK apothecary in the High Street, needed hospital treatment after she was grabbed and pushed to the ground by one of the men, who was one of two men allegedly trying to shoplift, on December 23.

Ms Lowe said she recognised the three men who police believe may have committed a theft in the Beaconsfield branch of the shop the day before, after she received CCTV images of the men from the other shop.

She said: “They turned up on Saturday afternoon at around 1.30pm. One of the girls recognised them and told me so I got them to call the police while I tried to stop them from leaving.

“I pushed the door to because I wanted to delay them. I then decided to get my keys and lock the door.

“One of the guys said, ‘Oi, what are you doing?’

“We then had a bit of a tussle and he managed to open enough of a gap to get out into the High Street.”

Ms Lowe said two of the men came into the shop, and she spotted the third man waiting outside.

She added: “I then put my weight against the door and the other man came up behind me and got hold of the handle.

“He then threw me to the floor.”

Ms Lowe, who already had problems with her shoulder, suffered a blow to her coccyx and her already injured shoulder, as well as bruising to her hands and her sternum.

She told the Marlow Free Press that prior to the incident, she had spent one-and-a-half days trying to prevent shoplifters from stealing, adding that the shop saw a sharp rise in the number of people trying to shoplift over the Christmas period.

She added: “By this stage I just thought, ‘You are not going to steal, I’m going to hand you over to the police’.

“I have had to go to the hospital since then. I would think twice next time before having a go physically.”

Police have released a CCTV image of three men they want to speak to in connection to the incident.

Anyone with information or who recognises the men can contact Sgt Robin Hughes, of the Marlow Neighbourhood Police Team, on 101 quoting reference 43170380010, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.