POLICE have released these CCTV images of a gang they believe were involved in a £10,000 cigarette raid at a Hampshire shop.

Thieves forced the front door of the Co-op store in Bassett Green Road, Southampton, in the early hours of the morning and got away with the haul.

Four men were seen leaving the scene in a Mitsubishi vehicle and one was seen running off down a side street.

The first suspect is described as of slim to medium build, wearing a dark blue hooded top with a white stripe down the side, dark trainers and gloves.

The second is of large build, wearing a dark blue hooded top with a blue Adidas baseball cap underneath, cream coloured tracksuit bottoms with three stripes and an Adidas flower at the bottom of the left leg.

The third is of medium build, wearing a black hooded top, possibly leather or waterproof, blue tracksuit bottoms, black Nike trainers with a white Nike tick.

A fourth suspect wore a blue and grey hooded top, blue tracksuit bottoms with white stripes down the side and gloves with red on them and dark trainers.

The fifth is described as medium build, wearing a cream top and a grey balaclava, dark bottoms and lighter trainers.

DC Alison Humby said police were keen to hear from anyone who had been offered cheap cigarettes for sale in the area recently.

Anyone with information can call DC Humby at Southampton Central police station on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.