Three bungling burglars left empty-handed after failing to break into a cash machine.
At 1.45pm on Monday November 22, the raiders broke into Jaybee's Convenience Store in the Kings Furlong Centre in Basingstoke.
Police have now issued an appeal for witnesses.
Mark Buttress, manager of the family-owned store, said: “They did not make off with any cash, but the damage is far more than just monetary.”
He said the would-be thieves, who were caught on CCTV, got in by cutting locks on the store’s metal shutters and raising them and then breaking a glass pane.
Mr Buttress said: “They got through our security shutters with a serious piece of cutting gear. Then they disappeared for a while.
“I had thought something had spooked them but they returned and proceeded to put a big crack through the glass.”
Two of the three robbers then went inside the store where they attempted to raid the cash machine.
Mr Buttress said the gang destroyed the cash machine by trying to open it, causing £1,500 damage.
He said: “They have to be the thickest criminals ever. The machine was bolted down and there were signs saying the machine contained no money overnight.”
The burglars were in store for two-and-a-half minutes before fleeing empty-handed.
Police were alerted by an automatic alarm on the premises. The thieves left, closing the shutters behind them.
Police have released descriptions of the pair who entered the store, who were 18 or 19 years old. The first wore a light coloured hooded top with the hood up and light coloured trousers while his accomplice was wearing dark clothing.
PC Stuart Bond of Basingstoke Targeted Patrol Team said: “This burglary happened in a residential area with a number of overlooking properties, so it may be that someone living nearby, or a passer-by, saw or heard something. If you did, please get in touch.”
Mr Buttress added: “This was the only cash machine in the area, so a lot of residents are finding it hard.
“People can't believe it happened. We had problems in the past, but not like this. We are very angry about this.
“With Christmas being our busiest time of the year, this does not help when I have to deal with this while having a thousand other things to do.
“I would like to ring their necks and there would be a huge queue behind me.”
