Thieves broke into a newsagents in the Towns during the early hours of yesterday morning and made off with at least £9,000 of cigarettes.

The break in happened at the Newstrack and Post Office store in Princes Park, Chatham, shortly after 2am.

The balaclava-clad raiders also caused almost £3,000 of damage.

Owner Barry Vara and his wife Ava have run the shop, next to the Morrisons, for the past 15 years.

They were woken by an early morning phone call informing them of the raid.

Mr Vara, 38, said: “They broke into the back of the shop by ripping the shutter off the wall and smashing the double glazed door at the back.

“I think its going to cost me about £2,900 to get all the repairs done. I couldn’t open the shop on yesterday.

“They took about £9,000 of cigarettes and tobacco and the till. I had only been to the cash and carry the day before to stock up.

“We are told by the cash and carry to change our routes home when you’ve been stocking up and I do that every time.

“I think the thieves have just been lucky. The police have been round and have taken the CCTV.

“We think a car was involved in the getaway and there were three guys involved, they looked like they were in their early 20s wearing balaclavas.”

Mr Vara spent all that night and most of the day yesterday at the store clearing up and getting the place fixed so he could re-open the store today (Wednesday).

He added: “The whole thing is costing me about £10,000 to get sorted and I would appeal to anyone who knows anything to call the police, especially if anyone knows anyone selling cheap fags in the area.

“This is a family run business and we love our little community and would be a shame if we had to lose the post office because of three guys think it’s OK to do this.”

Anyone with information should call Kent Police on 01634 792209 quoting reference 2-0059, alternatively call Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.