A FAMILY business in Strood was the target of a raid by masked men. Jassal's newsagents and store in Kitchener Road, was broken into during the early hours of Friday.

Cabinets of confectionery, a unit containing hundreds of pounds of cigarettes and goods were thrown across the store.

The three masked men struck just before 5am and broke in by ramming a fence pole into the front door, smashing the glass and security grille. Once in, they ripped out one of several security cameras in the store.

Despite being there for only minutes, the gang left a trail of destruction and a weekend clear-up for owner Bahari Jassal and his family.

Usually, the store would be taking around £2,500 on a Saturday and £1,800 on a Friday, but the store had to be closed to protect customers from the smashed glass and to clear up.

Mr Jassal, who has owned the store for more than 20 years said: "It makes me sick that it has happened. We have had it before, but not this bad and each time we have to upgrade the security, which costs a lot of money."

The police arrived on Friday morning to collect CCTV footage to try to identify the culprits. One witness, who didn't want to be named, was woken by the alarm. She said: "I looked out and saw three men around the store. One was in a car and the other two ran inside."

The men were described as wearing dark clothes and driving an estate car, possibly a Montego or Ford Escort with a roof rack. Two were wearing hooded tops and another had a knitted hat on and each of them smoked.

Anyone with information is asked to telephone Medway Police on 01634 884252.