Shop bosses are unable to confirm when a village convenience store will reopen following an early morning ram-raid.

Thieves smashed through the front of the Co-op in Wye, near Ashford, with a 4x4 at about 1.45am - in what has been described as an "attack on the community’s ATM".

The morning after the ram-raid at Wye Co-op

A police cordon is currently in place at the store in Churchfield Way - which suffered heavy damage after a vehicle repeatedly reversed into the shopfront.

An ATM can be seen lying on the path after thieves got away with a cash box which contained a "substantial amount of money".

It has not yet been confirmed when the store will open, as Co-op bosses say structural assessments of the building are yet to be carried out.

A company spokesman said: “An incident occurred at our Wye store in the early hours of this morning when there was an attack on the community’s ATM.

"It is too early to confirm when the store will re-open while the outcome of structural assessments are awaited.

"We appeal for anyone who may have seen or heard anything to come forward to police, who are investigating.”

A security guard ,who was patrolling the Wye College site overnight, was one of the first on scene after hearing a loud bang.

He told KentOnline how he spotted a Mitsubishi Shogun ramming into the Co-op and leaving the area shortly before police arrived on scene.

Detective Sergeant Jason Booth confirmed witnesses saw a silver 4x4 and Vauxhall Astra leave the scene.

He said: "We have been carrying out our initial inquiries at the scene and have spoken to a number of witnesses.

"We would ask anyone else who has information and has not yet been in touch to provide details by calling us on 01843 222289, quoting reference 08-0077.

"We would also like to speak to anyone who has CCTV or dashcam footage in the area of Churchfield Way between midnight and 3am, which could help us trace the movements of the suspects who were all believed to be wearing dark clothing."

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