THIEVES used a stolen car to make their getaway after stealing more than 20 saddles from Countrywide Stores in Evesham.

The raid, which took place at about 8.20pm on Tuesday, is the third serious burglary at the Worcester Road store in just nine months.

Thieves twisted the locks off outer gates and smashed their way through toughened glass to get to the new and second hand saddles worth thousands of pounds. Among the haul were several distinctive Wintec models.

Police are now studying CCTV footage from the store's cameras and are appealing for any witnesses to step forward.

Rachel Baylis, assistant manager at Countrywide, said: "We have had chainsaws stolen twice and now saddles. "We are now looking to install roller shutters to make sure this does not happen again."

The thieves used a blue Rover 827, which had been stolen earlier from an address in nearby Briar Close.

Police want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious. They would also like to hear from the man who reported seeing the car leaving the scene at high speed at around 8.50pm.