Thieves smashed through the front window of a micropub before stealing £100 from the till.

The owners of the Copper Pottle in Reculver Road, Beltinge, were alerted to the damage by a friend.

They found the raiders had snatched the CCTV hard drive, which would have shown the burglars breaking into the building.

Co-owner Gary Pottle said: “They smashed in through the window, which faces on to the main road, so it was very brazen.

“There are quite a few micropubs in Kent now but I think this is the first time one has been broken into – an incident like this is quite unusual.

“Apart from the window, they did not damage anything else, but they knew what they were doing.”

"The fact they took the hard drive shows they knew what they were doing..." - Gary Pottle

The incident happened between 10.30pm on Thursday, February 16, and 5am on Friday, February 17.

Mr Pottle, who suspects the micropub was targeted in the early hours, has run the site with his business partner, Gavin Elgar, for 18 months.

The pair – who have raised about £3,000 for the Herne-based Strode Park Foundation since launching in 2015 – opened as usual after the break-in. Chestfield-based Mr Pottle, 58, said: “Thieves do usually pick on larger businesses where there would be more stuff to take, so it is quite unusual for a micropub to be targeted.

“They took our CCTV hard drive, but a couple of places nearby have got CCTV of the incident, although it is from quite a distance away.

“We have had police and forensics out here, but the fact they took the hard drive shows they knew what they were doing.”

Police are appealing for witnesses following the incident.

Officers are urging anyone with information to call police on 01843 222289.