DETECTIVES have renewed their appeal for information after a smash-and-grab raid at Gibbs Newsagents at Hadlow, near Tonbridge.

A gang of up to seven men who smashed the front door of the High Street shop early last Friday morning and escaped with a quantity of cigarettes. They were seen making off in a dark estate car at about 4.20am.

The raid was the seventh similar break-in in the West Kent area in the last month. There have also been more than a dozen others in the Maidstone and Malling area so far this summer.

Police have advised shopkeepers to ensure they have enough security measures to put raiders off.

West Kent Police spokeswoman Anne McCarthy said: "We would recommend that shopkeepers review their security to make things as difficult as possible for burglars.

"Reinforcing stockroom doors or keeping cigarettes locked in metal cabinets will slow burglars down - meaning there is a higher chance of them being spotted by a witness."

Anyone with information about the Hadlow raid should call West Kent Police on 01732 771055.