RA"AIDERS escaped with hundreds of items of jewellery.

Thieves used a wooden battering ram to break into the MGJ jewellery shop in St Martin's Street, Wallingford. Staff are still counting the cost of the raid, which took place early on Saturday morning.

The raiders attached a 6ft plank of wood to the back of a white Vauxhall Astra and rammed the door.

The car was found abandoned outside the rectory in nearby Castle Street. Several items of jewellery were found discarded in the abandoned car, which is believed to have been stolen in Oxford earlier this month. The thieves are thought to have used a second vehicle to leave the scene. The store manager, who asked for his name to be withheld, said: "I feel as sick as a pig. They were determined to get in and there was nothing we could do.

"They sorted out the jewellery and left behind all the stuff they weren't interested in. One would assume they knew what they were looking for."

Security bollards were installed on the pavement following a similar ram-raid ten years ago. However, the wooden posts were so far apart, the thieves were able to drive a car between them.

The manager condemned stringent planning regulations prohibiting him from beefing up security at the store and called for a closed circuit television system to be introduced in the town centre.

Story date: Thursday 17 February

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