POLICE are appealing for information after a village supermarket was targeted by burglars yesterday.

The Co-op store, in Willington's Commercial Street, was broken into by thieves at about 2.30am, when the burglars forced their way in through a fire door and made their way to the office area, where they carried out an untidy search.

They then made an unsuccessful attempt to break into the safe and, when that failed, went back into the shop and removed three grey plastic trays, each containing a £100 float, from each of the three tills. In total, £300 was taken.

They also went to the tobacco display area, and made off with a large number of cigarettes. It is thought the thieves swept the cigarettes into a number of black bin bags which they took from the shelves of the store.

The shop's alarm went off as they forced their way into the premises, and police are hoping the noise may have alerted passers-by or motorists travelling along Commercial Street.

Detective Constable Darren Cresswell said: "The intruders would have made a considerable amount of noise, first when they broke into the store and secondly when they tried to get at the stuff.

"We are hoping they might have been heard by people making their way home at that time by foot or by car."

Anybody with information is asked to contact Bishop Auckland CID on 0845 60 60 365 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.