BUNGLING ram raiders made off with an empty cash box after crashing a stolen car through the doors of a garage on Saturday.

The incident happened at the Courtesy Filling Station, Cadnam, at around 10.15pm and Detective Constable Paul Williams, of Hythe CID, explained: "The cashier had just locked the garage door and was in the process of cashing up when a silver-coloured Ford Escort was driven through the door, causing extensive damage."

It sent debris flying across the sales area and the cashier was hit on the leg by a piece of the wreckage and suffered a minor injury.

She also had the cash box snatched from her hands by one of at least three men who were in the car.

He is described as being five feet eight inches tall, slim, in his early 20s and was wearing a dark jacket and black balaclava.

After running from the crashed car, the men leapt into another vehicle which was parked nearby in Old Lyndhurst Road.

Meanwhile, police have established that the silver Escort was stolen from Bridport in Dorset earlier in the day.

It has been impounded for forensic tests and a thorough study of the closed circuit television tape taken from the garage is also being carried out.

After conducting house-to-house inquiries, police believe that the getaway car may have been a Ford Mondeo or similar car, which was noticed in The Parade at Cadnam at about the time of the raid.

"A member of the public remembers seeing a Ford Mondeo-like car parked there at the relevant time with no one in it. Later, residents heard a lot of car door-slamming and when they looked out, they saw the Ford Escort but the Mondeo had gone," said DC Williams.

Anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the Cadnam area on Saturday night is asked to contact DC Williams at Hythe CID on 0845 045 45 45.