THREE men escaped with a cash machine after smashing through the front of a village post office in a stolen 4x4.

The incident occurred at Cliffe Woods post office, near Strood, on Thursday afternoon.

The ram-raiders manhandled the freestanding cash machine into the maroon-coloured vehicle and drove off through a wooded area opposite the shop.

They headed towards Cliffe village on the B2000 where they hit a grass bank and set the car on fire.

Three members of staff in the post office, all women, were unhurt. They were not threatened during the raid.

At this stage Kent Police are not linking the incident with other ram-raids in the county over the past few months.

A Kent Police spokeswoman said: "Many people were about at the time and we are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, or who saw the 4x4 being driven in the area before or after the incident, to come forward,"

She said they wanted to hear from anyone who saw people behaving suspiciously in the area, possibly in a blue saloon car.

The maroon vehicle was stolen earlier in the day from the village of Westerham, near Sevenoaks.

The three robbers are described as being in their 20s or 30s and were all wearing hooded tops. One was shorter and stockier than the other two.