A village post office has been targeted by a gang who ram-raided the building and took a cash-filled safe.The burglary at the Lyng post office happened shortly after 3am on Saturday and is believed to have involved between four and six men.

A village post office has been targeted by a gang who ram-raided the building and took a cash-filled safe.

The burglary at the Lyng post office happened shortly after 3am on Saturday and is believed to have involved between four and six men.

Police said officers were investigating whether it was linked to an incident that happened at the Bell Inn, in Barnham Broom, at about 3am the same morning.

Det Sgt Jason Davis, who is based at Thetford, said: 'Two vehicles and a number of males were involved in an attack on the post office at Lyng.

'One of the vehicles was used to ram the front of the building resulting in substantial damage being caused.'

He said nobody was at the post office at the time and that the burglars then gained entry to the building. They took a safe containing an undisclosed amount of money and other items including stamps.

One of the vehicles involved was described as a red Subaru and the other is believed to be a 4x4 vehicle.

Det Sgt Davis said officers were now conducting a joint investigation into the burglary and the incident at the Bell Inn.

The Bell Inn landlord, who did not want to be named, and his family saw a gang of masked people hanging about outside the pub at about 3am on Saturday. He said the gang were in two red vehicles.

The landlord's 19-year-old son was returning to the pub at the time and was confronted by the gang who tried to pin him to the front of the pub with a car but the teenager managed to escape by jumping over the bonnet.

Anyone with information should contact Det Con Colin Aris at Dereham CID on 0845 4564567.