THOUSANDS of pounds of cigarettes were stolen from a Devizes convenience store during the early hours of Monday after thieves smashed down the front door.

CCTV images of the raid on Hillworth Stores in Hillworth Road show three young men inside the shop and a fourth outside.

They used tools to break into a secure cabinet behind the counter and escaped with a large quantity of cigarettes which they put into a rubble bag usually used by builders.

Heather Wardingham, who has worked in the shop for more than 40 years, said: "This is the first actual burglary that I can remember.

"It is sad for something like this to happen at a shop which is part of the community."

She was woken at 2am on Monday by an alarm call and rushed straight to the shop.

She said: "When I got here the police were already there. I hope the CCTV might help the police to catch them."