A significant police presence was noted outside WHSmith in Ascot over the bank holiday, with officers cordoning off the store following a break-in.

A source at the WHSmith branch said that intruders entered the store overnight between Sunday and Monday (May 6).

They stated: "There was a break-in. They broke the window, and they stole some stuff.

"It was in the middle of the night."

The thieves made off with tobacco and lottery scratchcards from the premises.

Forensics teams were on the scene, and officers were still at the store as late as 2pm on Monday.

However, the cordon was removed on the same day, and the shop was reopened.

Nobody was present during the break-in, which occurred outside trading hours - and staff at neighbouring shops told Bracknell News that they did not see anything.

A spokesperson for Thames Valley Police said: "This was a burglary that happened about 3am yesterday.

"A number of packets of cigarettes were stolen.

"We are currently carrying out a thorough investigation, including house to house enquiries and obtaining and reviewing CCTV.

"We would urge anyone with information or footage from the area to call us on 101 and visit our website, quoting investigation number 43240208607."