OWNERS of a family run butchers at the heart of Witney say they are angry after an early morning raid saw thieves make off with more than £1,000, the second burglary in the town in the same night.

Offenders forced their way into the rear entrance of Bakers Butchers in the Woolgate Centre in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Elsewhere in Market Square, thieves also broke into Church Green Café. They entered via a window and took an iPad along with cash.

Police are linking the two incidents.

Billy Rideout, a director at Bakers – which has been a staple in the town for 35 years – has urged anybody who recognises the men in CCTV images released by police not to hesitate in coming forward with information.

Mr Rideout said: "I came into work at 5.20am on Saturday and was faced with it.

"It’s the last thing you want for all sorts of reasons."

The two thieves, wearing scarves or balaclavas over their faces, broke into the shop by jimmying open the back door.

Once inside, they smashed open the tills but, after finding no cash, proceeded to use a cutter to break the lock on the fridge where money was stored in a metal box. In total, it is believed the men caused more than £1,000 worth of damage.

Mr Rideout said that, being a business that largely deals in cash, there was £1,300 on the premises which was taken.

The men left with the cash in a shopping trolley and entered a nearby van. The store has now changed its policy with regard to leaving money inside overnight.

Donald Baker, managing director, added: "In this day and age I'm not too surprised this happened - but it does surprise me that they broke into a butchers.

"The worst thing of all was that they smashed the tills thinking there would be money in there. And they made a right mess of the back door."

Cameras within the store captured images of the two men conducting the raid. While the men had their faces covered in the in-store footage, police were able to see what the men were wearing and place them elsewhere in the town.

Mr Rideout said he is hopeful the images will lead to an arrest.

He said: “The CCTV means there’s definitely more chance of them getting caught. The more people that see the images, the more chance there is of somebody recognising them.

“Please don’t hesitate to contact the police if you recognise either of the men.”

Investigating officer PC Craig Vaughan, based at Witney police station, said: “I would like to speak to anyone with any information about this burglary or anyone who saw anything suspicious in the area at around the time of the offence.

“I would also like to speak to the men shown in the CCTV images, or anyone who recognises them, as they may have information which could be important to our investigation.”