Auckland ram raids: Bollards no match for thieves who targeted Mobil service station in Oratia

Mobil Oratia owner Sam Somjee says he and his staff are afraid to come to work after the store was broken into for the third time in the last six months. Video / Hayden Woodward / NZ Herald

A West Auckland petrol station is the latest store to be targeted by ram raid thieves overnight.

Police were called to the Mobil service station on West Coast Rd in Oratia, near Glen Eden, just after 2.30am.

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Photos from the scene reveal bollards were no match for the thieves, who used a vehicle to slam through the concrete block front wall.

An uprooted bollard designed to protect the store front. Photo / Hayden Woodward

A witness said the vehicle used was abandoned and he understood those involved made off in a second car.

"It's deja vu," he said of the ongoing ram raids around the city.

The vehicle rammed into the side of the shop where the night-pay service usually operates.

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It is not yet known whether any staff were injured.

The ram raid is one of several this week and in the past few months.