A GANG of four thieves stole £10,000-worth of cigarettes after breaking into a shop in Ringwood.

The burglary happened at about 3am on June 19 at Co-op in Parsonage Barn Lane.

Intruders forced their way into Co-op, smashing the door and damaging the cabinets containing the cigarettes before making off with them.

Three men went into the shop with a large yellow ‘Hippo’ sack and filled it, then loaded it into the waiting car, driven by a fourth man.

The vehicle arrived from the Hightown Road direction and went back the same way.

Police believe the gang carried out the burglary in six minutes.

A Co-op staff member said: “The alarm went off after the thieves broke in but our neighbours heard the disturbance and rang the police.

“I was called in with the manager during the early hours of the morning.

“There was glass everywhere.

“We were unable to open at 6am because of the amount of time that it took to clean up.

“We were finally able to open up at noon but obviously we had very few cigarettes to sell.”

A Hampshire Police spokesman said: “We’re following up a number of lines of inquiry regarding people seen in the area at that time.

“The vehicle was caught on CCTV and the theives left forensic evidence. We would appeal to members of the public who may have been in the area at the time and may have seen something or heard something around that time to come forward.

“If anyone is offered cheap cigarettes we would appreciate them telling us.”

The first mand is described as being of medium build, aged 30 to 35 and wearing a jacket with a hooded top and dark tracksuit bottoms. The second was of medium built, wearing black jeans and a hooded top.

The third was slimmer, and wore a dark hooded top and dark trousers and the fourth was slim and wearing jeans and was younger.

The police spokesman added: “There has been a series of cigarette raids in Hampshire recently. We would welcome information on this or any other incidents.”

Contact PC Lisa Roberts on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 55111 quoting reference number 44120234234.