THREE thugs repeatedly rammed the shutters of a newsagents with a car before breaking in and stealing hundreds of pounds of stock.

Owners of Arundel News, in Arundel Road, Benfleet, have been left traumatised by the incident and confirmed thousands of pounds of damage was caused to the store.

No arrests have been made at this stage but Essex Police has confirmed it is investigating and urging any witnesses to come forward as a matter of urgency.

According to the owners of the shop, who have asked to remain anonymous, the group used a car to repeatedly ram the front of the shop before breaking in and stealing cigarettes, tobacco products, and scratch cards in the early hours of Thursday.

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A spokesman for Arundel News said: “It was around 4am, and a car came and smashed into the shutter around five times to try and force it open.

“They took cigarettes, and scratch cards. But they did more in damages, than they actually took.

“My wife and I, as well as some of the neighbours, were making noises to try and scare them off.

“But they were so brazen. We couldn’t have stopped it, and we didn’t know what they had on them either, whether they had something sharp. It was so worrying.

“We are all so shaken, it was awful. We are traumatised.”

Essex Police confirmed officers attended the scene.

Andrew Sheldon, Conservative candidate standing for the Tarpots ward, said: “These ram-raiders need to be caught.

“Times are tough for shops and we, as a community, need to support them.

“Please if anyone saw anything suspicious that night in the area, please come forward to the police and help put those responsible behind bars where they belong.”

A spokesman for Essex Police added: “We were called to a newsagent on Arundel Road in Benfleet at around 4am on Thursday following reports of a business burglary.

“The three suspects damaged the front of the store with a car, before entering and stealing tobacco products.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact us quoting incident 100 of April 25.”

Other candidates in the Tarpots ward are: Kieron Bowker (PIP), Michael Dearson (PIP), Holly Foxen (Lab), Susan Foxen (Lab), Sunil Gupta (Con), and Benn Wimbledon (PIP).