Masked burglars were caught on CCTV breaking into a children's play centre overnight.

Andrew Moody, the owner of Adventure Kidz, in Aylesford, received a call from a surveillance monitoring company telling him the building had been broken into via a smashed window at around 9.20pm.

When he looked at the live CCTV footage on his phone he could see an intruder trying to break into the safe.

Officers arrived at the centre, in Wood Close, with the dog unit.

Taking to Facebook this morning, he posted pictures of the CCTV footage on the Adventure Kidz page, which shows a burglar, with their face covered, inside the building, rifling through cupboards and filing cabinets before smashing the camera.

Mr Moody also posted a picture of a door that appears to have been smashed to gain access to the office around an hour after staff left for the evening.

He said: "I'm not sure what they thought they were going to achieve. They are just chancers. It is the aftermath that is the most upsetting thing."

This is the third time the business has been broken into, with a masked person targeting the building in March 2019 and a similar burglary in February 2016.

The business owner, from Rochester, said he doesn't know how much was taken but believes they were targeting the safe.

He is unable to get inside the office while forensic investigations are underway.

He said: "What everyone needs to realise is what people think is going to be inside our kind of business isn't, all they are doing is creating a problem for the community. I am sure the person will have been in here with their children before."

Mr Moody said repairing the damage, which will involve replacing smashed windows and doors, could cost more than £1,000.

He is gathering CCTV footage from neighbouring businesses for more information.

The centre is open as usual today.

Police confirmed there were no other burglaries reported in the area last night and officers urge witnesses or anyone with any information to call 01622 604100 quoting reference 46/212076/19.

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