THIEVES left a trail of destruction at a Benfleet toy shop following a bungled raid.

Hundreds of pounds worth of damage was caused at the Turnaround Toys store in London Road Benfleet on Friday.

The shop, which sells secondhand toys, was also carrying a large stock of new toys when the thieves struck at 1.30am.

Police were alerted and the force's helicopter was sent up. As a result, one of the gang was arrested at the scene.

But the thieves had already smashed their way through a wrought iron security gate and smashed windows.

Proprietor, Jill Gaught, hit out at the "scum" who target small businesses like hers.

She said: "There are very few independent toy shops operating these days. It is hard enough to run a business now, without having to deal with this sort of thing.

"We are carrying a full stock of toys including a lot of new ones at the moment so we are glad they were stopped.

"It is nice to know the police were on to them so quickly and caught one of them. It wasn't kids, as they had a van waiting outside ready to load up."

Essex Police confirmed a man was arrested at the scene on suspicion of burglary.

Anyone who has information about the incident is asked to contact Rayleigh police on 01268 775533, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.