POLICE were this week hunting two of the dimmest thieves in the Vale after a bungled attack on a car dealership at the weekend.

Under the watchful gaze of no fewer than five CCTV cameras, the bumbling burglars spent 80 minutes trying to remove the putty surrounding a window at the Midfield Motors premises in Blackminster.

The pair managed to crack the pane and remove a piece of glass, said owner Paul Middleton.

They then tried to chisel the window frame with what Mr Middleton said was believed to be a nail file.

"To top it all," he added, "they made all this effort while staring them in the face were 15mm solid steel security bars!"

But, said Mr Middleton, the best was yet to come. Undeterred by their failure to enter through the window, the would-be thieves clambered onto the roof and started to remove the tiles to try to gain entry that way.

"If they had succeeded and got through the roof, they would have ended up back in the car park still outside the building," said Mr Middleton. "The roof has at least three feet of overhang."

The intruders, who were captured on five CCTV cameras, were in their late teens or early 20s, of slim build, between 5ft 8in and 5ft 10in tall, both in jeans and trainers. One had a dark, possible black top and the other wore a light grey hoody.

Anyone who who saw any unusual or suspicious activity in the area is asked to contact Evesham police on 08457 444888, quoting 135S/240905.