Ram raiders take £20k worth of Jellycat toys

The thieves were captured on CCTV leaving the shop with a large bag of stock

An independent toy shop has had about £20,000 worth of Jellycat and Charlie Bears soft toys stolen in a ram raid.

The owners of The Gorge Bear Company in Cheddar, Somerset, said the shop was ram-raided at about 04:40 BST on Sunday.

Paul Pimlott, company secretary, told the BBC they rammed into the shop "eight times" using a wooden post as "a battering ram".

Avon and Somerset Police said an investigation has been launched, and added officers searched the area to try to locate the silver Renault Twingo involved.

CCTV cameras captured a man and woman looking into the windows about 20 minutes before the incident. A car was then used to gain entry to the shop.

In a social media post, the store said a "large quantity" of goods were stolen and urged people to look out for items at car boot sales, on Vinted and on eBay.

Mr Pimlott told the BBC: "Seeing it, there's an element of shock of why would people do that?"

"There's loads and loads of comments of support which is even more overwhelming," he added.

"We've had a lot of phone calls on the day. A father phoned in because her daughter was in tears [because] of what's happened to the shop.

"There's a lot of emotional outpouring because people think it's only a bear, but there's a story behind every bear."

The shop has been closed since the incident but is due to reopen on Thursday.