Three escape as raid fails on off-licence

Masked raiders smashed through the front of a Black Country off-licence in the early hours today. Three men wearing black balaclavas and gloves broke through a shutter and the front door.

CCTV footage of the raid at Fletcher Drink Cabinet, in Bridgnorth Road, Wollaston, Stourbridge, at about 2.30am shows the men attempting to get money out of the store's cash machine but they fled after burglar alarms went off.

Owner and manager Gurdeep Gora today said she was "very upset" about the attack.

Mrs Gora, who has owned the shop for 12 years and lives nearby, said she was alerted to the break in by the shop's alarm and her neighbours who called the police.

"They had smashed the front shutter and the glass window," she said. "I just don't know why they did it because they didn't take anything and they couldn't get any money out of the cash machine."

Police are today studing the CCTV pictures of the raid in a bids to find clues about the culprits.

It is unclear how raiders had managed to smash through the metal shutters of the store in the village centre.

West Midlands Police officers are appealing for anybody who witnessed the raid to call 0845 113 5000 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.