Shop front damaged in early morning ram raid

A shop front has been badly damaged in an early morning ram raid in Rotorua.

The entire front of Malfroy's Bar and Bottle Shop was on the ground at the West End shopping centre at the corner of Old Taupo Rd and Malfroy Rd today.

Police confirmed a vehicle was used to enter a commercial property on Malfroy Rd and some items had been stolen.

Police were working to see if there was any evidence to identify those responsible, a spokeswoman said.

A policeman took fingerprints from the scene at 10am, from areas including glass doors on fridges in the bottle shop, before gathering further evidence from the bar.

The fridges and counter appeared mostly undamaged.

Stunned members of the public watched from the street as they veered around the taped off footpath with broken glass, fallen bars and doors strewn across the concrete.

Malfroy's Bar staff at the scene did not want to comment.

They said the owner lived overseas.

Westend dairy staff declined to comment saying "it is not our business".

A St Vincent de Paul shop staff member was not aware of the damage nearby until it was pointed out to her.

All other shops at the corner were operating as usual.