TWO Witham convenience stores are appealing for information after thieves stole vodka from both.

Essex Police is investigating thefts from the Honeysuckle Store and U Save convenience store.

On both occasions a man managed to snatch Ciroc vodka from behind the counter and run off.

Nick Patel, owner of U Save in Shaw Road, had his shop targeted on July 13 and caught the incident on CCTV.

He said: “There was a group of four youths, they looked between 18 and 20 – they were hanging around for two or three minutes.

“Three of them waited outside, one of them came in and walked right round onto the counter.

“He asked my colleague about the price of the vodka then left.

“About 30 seconds later he came back and asked to buy the vodka – my colleague got it off the shelf and went to scan it but the guy snatched it and ran out the door.”

He said the man ran off with the £30 bottle of Ciroc and caught up with the other men, who had got into a white Renault converted van.

He said: “These guys are only going to get bolder as time goes on. No one was hurt this time around but it’s not the last time.

“They are only going to step it up and do something stupid one day.”

Four days later a man went into Honeysuckle Stores in Honeysuckle way and asked for the same type of vodka.

Navin Kabaria, Nick’s friend who owns the store, had to push the panic button.

He said: “He came in and asked for a bottle of Ciroc vodka and I asked for the money first.

“He asked me what I meant, and he tried to snatch my phone which he didn’t get, so I knew he was going to try something.

“I pressed the panic button but he came around and smashed the counter door, took the vodka and ran off.

“It was just me here on my own.

“It’s the first time something like this has happened- the main thing is no one was hurt.”

Both store owners fear the incidents are linked.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “A man tried to go behind the counter at U Save in Shaw Road shortly before 6.45pm on July 13 but was challenged.

“He left the store, then came back and asked for a bottle of vodka, before snatching it and running out of the premises.

“A man entered Honeysuckle Stores in Honeysuckle Way at 9am on July 17 and asked for a bottle of vodka. He then barged through a barrier behind the counter and grabbed three bottles of vodka before running out.”

Enquiries are ongoing into both incidents and police are reviewing CCTV footage.

Anyone with information should call police on 101.