THIEVES botched two ram-raids at Bucks Horn Oak service station and Liphook Post Office in the early hours of Saturday.

The bungling burglars first used a silver 4x4 to smash into the wall of the Gulf service station, opposite Alice Holt Forest on the A325 Bordon Road, sometime between 3.30am and 4am.

They left a hefty hole in the wall of a storeroom, but were unable to extract the service station’s safe and escaped empty handed driving off down the A325 towards Bordon.

At 4am, residents were woken up by the crashing noise of a silver 4x4 vehicle carrying out a ram raid at the Liphook Co-op, in Headley Road.

The car was seen reversing into the wall leading straight to the Post Office section of the shop, causing severe damage (see above).

Thieves got out of the car, went into the building, but sped-off empty handed, because the wall had collapsed onto the safe during the raid, completely burying it in rubble.

The get-away was caught on the shop’s CCTV camera, as the burglars drove down the Headley Road towards Bordon.

On Monday, police found an abandoned Mitsubishi 4x4 vehicle in woods at Longmoor Army Camp, which is thought to have been the vehicle used in both crimes.

A Post Office spokesman told The Herald: “The people who run our branches provide important services to local communities and any robbery or attempted robbery is very traumatic for those involved.

“We will be supporting the police in their efforts to apprehend those responsible and would urge anyone with information to contact the police.”

A Southern Co-op spokesman said: “The incident at Southern Co-op store in Liphook is currently being investigated by the police, so we’re unable to comment on the details of the incident at this time.

“We can confirm the site has manned security presence until repairs are complete. The security and safety of our customers and colleagues remains paramount to Southern Co-op at all times.”

According to a resident, who lives close to the store in Headley Road and who wished to remain anonymous, it took the burglars three hits to break down the wall of the Post Office in the 4am raid.

A 24-hour watch was mounted immediately after the incident, with a security company guarding the damaged wall, until builders came to carry out provisional repairs on Monday morning.

It is anticipated the post office will be out of action for approximately three weeks and customers are advised to go to nearby Grayshott, Lindford or Bordon Post Office branches.

Anyone with information should call Pc Helen Carthew on 101 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.