THIEVES sneaked into a store room at a village shop and stole a safe containing £4,500 cash and 2,000 scratchcards.

Police said the offenders forced their way into the room at the rear of the Spar shop, in Gisburn Road, Barrowford, while customers were being served by staff.

But according to a spokesman for National Lottery operator Camelot group, the stolen batch of scratchcards are worthless because they were unactivated, meaning a message will appear on machines if anyone tries to cash one with a winning combination.

Police investigating the theft are asking shopkeepers in the area to be on the lookout for anyone trying to collect winnings on an unactivated scratchcard.

Officers are also appealing to anyone who may have witnessed a white van, which was close to the rear of the shop before the incident, to get in touch.

The theft happened between 5pm and 6pm on Saturday when the shop, which sells groceries as well as freshly baked goods, was full of customers.

The thieves removed the safe without anyone in the shop hearing them and made off undetected, police said.

According to officers, there were 10 boxes, each containing 200 Scratchcards, inside the safe, as well as an estimated £4,500 in cash.

A spokesman for Camelot said: “As the scratchcards had not been activated for sale by the retailer it will not be possible for anyone to claim a prize on any of them as retailers will receive a message on their National Lottery terminals stating that the tickets are invalid.”

Detectives from Nelson Police said a white Ford Transit van was seen acting in an unusual manner around the time of the theft which people may have noticed.

Det Sgt Steve Holgate said: “The nature of the crime is unusual because of the time of day when it happened. It’s a very busy shop with people coming in and out and we would expect someone to have seen something, either outside the shop or in the car park at the back.

“We are asking for information from anyone who come across the National Lottery Scratchcards and we are keen to trace a white van seen driving from the Spar shop. We would also like to speak to anyone with details of anything out of the ordinary.”

Anyone with information should call Nelson CID on 01282 472644 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.