RAM-RAIDERS used a stolen digger to smash through the doors of a Morecambe sports superstore before stealing more than £2,000 worth of clothes.

When they were disturbed, the balaclava-clad thieves drove towards a group of people in their car before heading off in the direction of Heysham.

The group of balaclava-clad men raided the JJB store on the Sunnycliffe Retail Park between 10.45pm and 11.37pm on Tuesday.

The JCB was stolen from a nearby construction site and driven to the loading bay area of the store.

There, they used the digger to smash through the locked metal shutters and made their way to a store room where they stole boxes containing more than £2,000 worth of sports clothing which were loaded into the car.

This included 20 Umbro pullover type jackets in navy and light blue, 10 Le Coq Sportif pullover type jackets, three Alessi jackets, 25 Adidas and Lotto jackets in black and navy blue and a large number of assorted cotton teeshirts of various brands.

When a group of people arrived to investigate, the men made their way to their car, said to be a saloon type, similar to a Saab, and drove towards the group.

The car was seen heading to the A683.

Police say that all of the men were wearing black balaclavas and dark clothing.

It is not known exactly how many people were involved.

Anyone with any information on the crime is asked to contact Morecambe CID on 01524 63333.