A village shop near Gravesend was ransacked last night, as thieves stole over £10,000 worth of cigarettes, alcohol and cash.

ACME Wines in Higham was burgled in the early hours of this morning, with criminals clearing the shelves and stock room of drink and smokes sometime after 12.30am.

They also took a safe, gas bottles and emptied the cash machine in the Forge Lane store, with the owners forced to turn away customers looking to buy cigarettes today.

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Shop owner Raji Soruban said: "Everything's gone. The shelves are empty.

"My husband came to open the shop, and he found it.

"It's terrible - it was a bit of a shock and he phoned me in the early morning.

"We wanted to go on holiday to Dubai next week, so we stocked up for two weeks.

"We sell £700-800 of cigarettes a day, so we have that much stock to overturn."

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Mrs Soruban added that despite being covered by insurance, the pair are unable to claim until they receive a crime reference number from the police.

They also have little hope in catching the thieves, after CCTV cameras were disturbed and stolen.

She added: "They were disconnected, they stole all the data.

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"We have a CCTV system. That had been taken by them as well.

"All the cameras were turned in to the wall side, so they cannot been seen captured on the camera.

"They took lots of money. We have a small safe by the counter. That’s gone.

"All the spare stock. Everything’s gone."

The shopkeepers have been left with empty shelves, and piles of mess of the floor in the main shop and the office.

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A Kent Police spokeswoman said: "Officers are making enquiries after receiving a report that a quantity of cigarettes and alcohol were stolen from a shop in Forge Lane, Gravesend overnight, July 30-31."

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