NEARLY 2,000 bottles of high-end wine have been stolen in a smash-and-grab raid.

Burglars forced their way into the The Winehouse in Brighton Road, Shoreham, shortly after midnight on Tuesday.

They stole an estimated 1,800 bottles, including boxes of 2012 Chablis Cuvée André Dom Malandes, 2012 Fleurie Les Garants and Saint-Bris Chablis Les Malandes, worth an estimated £14,000.

The Winehouse is the sole importer of those three lines in the country, distributing them to restaurants or off-licences.

Police are appealing for witnessses to the raid between 12.15 am and 1.15am on Tuesday (August 26).

PC Sally Howarth, of Sussex Police, said: "If you are offered some of the bottles by someone who isn't from The Winehouse please contact us.

"A number of people must have been involved to have removed so many bottles of wine in such a short period of time and they would have needed a van or a lorry to take them away.
 
"We also need to speak to anyone who was in the Brighton Road area in the early hours of Tuesday morning and who may have seen or heard something suspicious or anyone who saw a vehicle parked outside The Winehouse at that time."
 
Anyone with information should email 101@sussex.pnn.police.uk quoting serial 139 of 26/08, call 101, or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.