by Hayley Robinson

A rural business has been left counting the cost after it was ­targeted by thieves.

The culprits made off with an estimated £500 in cash plus ­cigarettes worth £229 after they tore a vending machine, worth £400, from a concrete wall ­during the midnight raid at Bredgar Farm Shop and Cafe.

The thieves gained entry by removing a wooden panel from the back door.

The break-in was only ­discovered when owner Tim Clark went to the lock-up store to buy a packet of smokes from the machine at 4am last Thursday.

Worried the offenders were still inside the building, he ran back to the family home, opposite the shop, to raise the alarm.

He and his son Ricky rang the police before going back to investigate. They found the till smashed up at the rear of the premises, in The Street.

Cash for a community lottery fund run by the family-owned business, takings for the parish magazine, plus ticket money for a Christmas party organised for residents by Tim’s wife Sue, were also stolen.

It’s hoped the party, due to be held at the village hall on December 12, will still go ahead.

Ricky, 22, said: "We know the time they robbed us because they’d tried to open the till by pressing buttons. It’s electronic and logged the time as 12.17am.

"Somehow they got the ­cigarette machine through the door panel [hole] then over a 7ft fence."

The theft is one of a series of setbacks the Clarks have faced since taking over the lease of the shop in April last year.

Eyhorne Street, on the route between Hollingbourne and ­Sittingbourne, closed in April for 20 weeks of gas main works causing the store to lose an estimated £700 a week in passing trade.

"We’re holding our heads above water at the moment," said Ricky. "I don’t think we’ll go under but it’s a case of how many knocks can a small business take."

Anyone with information is asked to call the tactical crime investigation department on 01622 604280 quoting CY/16030/11