by Joe Walker

joewalker@thekmgroup.co.uk

A pair of bungling burglars left a trail of blood behind them after raiding a village shop in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The dozy duo cut themselves on a broken window while attempting to flee Herne Village Stores after the alarm sounded.

Blooded tracksuit bottoms were also found in a nearby bottle bank and handed into police.

Shop owner Priya Kumanan – who lives above the shop with husband Thiru and their two young daughters – says they were woken by the alarm shortly after 1am.

She said: “We were all asleep when we heard it going off. Thiru jumped straight out of bed and ran down the stairs but they’d gone by the time he got there.

“There was glass all over the floor and lots of blood. We called the police and they were here within minutes.

“It was pretty scary for all of us. Thiru has always worried that something like this might happen and now it has. We couldn’t sleep for the rest of the night.”

The couple played the events back on CCTV and watched as two teenagers hurled a brick through the shop window before climbing in.

They were forced to flee when Thiru turned the shop lights on, but left a trail of evidence behind them.

Priya said: “The police found blood going from the shop, up through the churchyard and into School Lane.

“Someone also found some tracksuit trousers covered in blood in the bottle bank in School Lane car park, so hopefully those responsible will be caught.

“They obviously wanted to steal something – whether it was cigarettes or alcohol – but luckily we had the gantry locked up and the alarm went off.

“We’re also lucky to have the support of people in the village, who have been very kind since they found out what happened.”

Investigating the break-in, Detective Constable Louise Hammond said: “Herne Street is a busy road and there may well have been people driving past who saw the offenders either at the shop or making off afterwards.

“We would also like to hear from anyone who has information about the people who may have been involved. It is likely that at least one of them has cut himself on broken glass.”

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111, quoting ZY/5784/12.