MOST thieves who go to the trouble of breaking into a service station tend to make a beeline for the till... but not this sweet-toothed lot.

They went straight to the sweet aisle pocketing doughnuts, Jelly Tots, Kinder eggs and 80 bars of Lindt chocolate after smashing their way into the Summit service station in Stadhampton.

They could well have got the munchies after a botched attempted to reverse their getaway van into the shop door, instead resorting to smashing in the window with tools to get to the confectionary instead.

The three hungry raiders, pictured in CCTV images, escaped from the Thame Road shop in a white pick-up van with a bounty worth £1,000 shortly after 1am on Wednesday.

Their calorie-filled loot also included several crates of beer, bottles of vodka and cigarette papers.

Police spokesman Danny Donovan described the burglary as “very unsophisticated.”

He said: “The first guy in the shop went straight to the doughnut stand and raided that. The next guy, when he came in, had the sweet stand on his immediate left and he picked up box after box and just threw them into the van.

“The third guy went to the counter where the shop assistant would stand and at his feet was a safe. It looks like he didn’t even notice it was there and he didn’t try to get into the till.

“He was standing next to expensive bottles of drink and didn’t take any. I think his friend took a couple of bottles of vodka, but that was it.”

Pc Emma Dobie said: “These thieves have caused several thousand pounds worth of damage for the sake of a few beers and some sweets.

“We are issuing CCTV footage and I’m appealing for witnesses to come forward.

“Thanks to the reinforced windows and shutters, damage to the building has been minimised, and the owner of the shop continues to trade.”

Nobody at the shop was available for comment yesterday.

It is not the first time the service station has been targeted by ramraiders.

In November 2008, a gang of ramraiders smashed a digger into the petrol station and stole a cash machine.

Three men in balaclavas were seen using the vehicle to rip the machine off the wall.

Guy Rees, reception manager at the Crazy Bear Hotel in nearby Bear Lane, Stadhampton, said: “I know it’s happened before, but it’s not really the kind of place you would think it would happen, in a village, but I suppose it’s quite close to the M40, Oxford and Blackbird Leys.”

Anyone with information should call police on 08458 505505 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.

eallen@oxfordmail.co.uk