AUDACIOUS thieves removed part of a shop's roof as they burgled the business.

Mark Lord

AUDACIOUS thieves removed part of a shop's roof as they burgled the business.

The break-in at Titlows newsagents in High Street, Leiston, happened between 5.30pm on Sunday, April 13, and 4.45am the following day.

The shop owner, Colin Stewart, said of the raid: “We are not sure whether these were professional thieves or not, but the way in which the broke in is a bit more involved than just smashing a window.

“They removed roof tiles and then cut through the roof felting in order to get into the shop. The burglars then caused some small damage inside the shop as they looked for what they wanted to take.

“The thieves then opened the door from the inside and left with a quantity of cash and cigarettes.”

But he added: “We are hoping that when they left our shop they went across the Rainbow supermarket car park and have been picked up by the store's CCTV cameras and the police can use these pictures.

“We cannot pin down an exact time for when it happened, but it was sometime just before 6pm on Sunday and about 5am the next morning. Hopefully someone may have been around in High Street and saw something.”

A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “Scene of crime officers have attended and we are now looking at the CCTV images we have seized.

“Officers have also carried out house to house enquiries and again we would appeal to anyone who may have seen anything or has any information to come forward.”

Anyone with any information should contact PC Ben Alder Leiston police station on 01473 613500 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.