Three people have been arrested after a spree of overnight shop burglaries in Suffolk and Essex – which may be linked.

Suffolk police received the first reported break-in at around 11.20pm at the Norfolk House Shop in Hopton, north Suffolk.

A member of the public reported three men had broken into the shop with what appeared to be a sledge-hammer and were stealing cigarettes.

The burglars are reported to have made off in a blue car.

A further break-in happened at the Co-op in Canhams Road, Great Cornard, at 12.42am this morning, again involving three men stealing cigarettes.

Reports of this crime suggest the thieves’ car was black.

A force spokesman said the two crimes were possibly linked, despite the significant distance between the two shops.

Two more shops were targeted just south of the Essex border in Belchamp St Paul and Finchingfield.

Essex Police arrested three men – it has not yet been confirmed how many of the break-ins the men have been arrested in connection with.

It comes after a spate of overnight break-ins at shops in Suffolk and Essex, many of them Co-ops.

Ram-raiders smashed into shops including in Dedham, Lavenham and Long Melford.

The East of England Co-operative offered a £40,000 reward for information leading to the ram-raiders’ arrest.

The latest break-ins were not ram-raids and there has been no suggested link with any of the other burglaries.