A MARKET town newsagent was broken into twice in just over 24 hours and thousands of pounds of stock was stolen.

The first thieves who targeted Martins newsagents in Northallerton escaped with more than £2,000 of cigarettes and damaged windows and a kiosk.

About 24 hours later thieves struck again and again stole thousands of pounds of cigarettes.

On the second occasion a group of youths was seen running away from the shop. They got into a green Audi A3, which police later confirmed was stolen from the Bradford area.

Store manager Nev Enderwick said: "It is the last thing you expect to happen in a place like Northallerton. But we are an easy target here, really. Because we are a close-knit community, people are complacent.

"Just look around - how many shops have shutters? None. We will be increasing our security now."

Thieves targeted the town last Tuesday and Wednesday night, with break-ins at a storage building and a high-street shop and attempted thefts at Somerfields supermarket and a pub. Thieves also broke a window of the kiosk at Petch's, in Victoria Road, and escaped with cigarettes.

At least eight incidents were reported in the town over a 24-hour period.

Det Sgt Peter Walker, of Northallerton CID, said: "The time was relative and so the all the thefts in the town could have been done by the same people.

"By using the closed circuit television system we were able to progress in our inquiries and link these crimes in Northallerton with a crime elsewhere in the region.

Anyone with information on any of the crimes should call Northallerton CID on (01609) 789789.

* Three adults and one youth have been arrested and charged and were due to appear before magistrates in Newton Aycliffe this week in connection with a number of thefts in North Yorkshire and County Durham.