Ram raiders made off with £1,500 of gardening equipment after smashing a car through the doors of a showroom last night.

A Ford Fiesta was reversed into the Harper and Eede Ltd premises in High Street, Hurstpierpoint, just before midnight.

The raiders stole a number of Husqvarna chainsaws and hedge trimmers.

They then sped off and were seen heading towards the A23.

Harper and Eede director Peter Sayers said: "They took some chainsaws and hedge trimmers - I would say about £1,500 worth in total.

"But there is more damage to the property.

"I would have thought that will run into thousands.

"They have completely smashed the doors which are wooden and more than 100 years old."

Mr Sayers said people living nearby were alerted to the raid when the firm's alarms went off and one woman seemed to think there was just one person in the vehicle.

He said police stayed at the showroom until it was light and his insurance assessors would be contacted today.

A spokesman for Sussex Police said: "The incident was first reported to us at 11.53pm.

"A black Fiesta XR2 was seen driving away from the scene east towards the A23.

"Possibly its rear window had been smashed.

"The alarm bell was ringing and those people that saw anything just saw the car making off."

The spokesman said the car registration had the final three letters XCD but he did not know how many people it had inside.

He added: "We think the car could have been registered in Kent but it could have been stolen and we are still checking that. We have been in contact with Kent Police about this."