A mother has spoken of her shock at being woken up to the “surreal” smash-and-grab raid this morning.

The front of McColl’s newsagents in Roydon High Street was completely destroyed by a fork-lift truck in the ram raid just before 2am today (September 16).

A cash machine was taken from the shop and abandoned, but police are yet to confirm if money was taken.

Olivia McDermott, 27, lives in the High Street and described masked men standing around calmly as the fork-lift repeatedly smashed its way through the shopfront.

Her family was woken at 1.55am to the “shocking” scene.

She said: “We were nervous, we turned the lights on and then turned them off again because we did not want the men to turn around.

“My husband and my Mum were more scared, but I was just worried for my baby, I am always thinking about her.”

She described the forklift repeatedly smashing into the shop and said: “There were three of them outside and one in the truck.

“They were just very chilled and quite relaxed, they had balaclavas on, nothing was showing.

“It sounded like bin-men, like glass breaking, that is why it was so shocking to see it all kicking off.”

The Conservative MP for Harlow and surrounding villages, Robert Halfon, wrote to senior officers this morning after people claimed Essex Police did not respond to the raid for 50 minutes.

Police have now said they responded in 12 minutes.

Writing to Epping Forest commander chief inspector Denise Morrissey, and copied to the county’s chief constable and PCC Nick Alston, Mr Halfon said: “This incident has shocked and distressed the whole village and, having received conflicting reports about the response time of the Police, I would like clarification of how long it took to respond to the 999 call.

“It is also perhaps worth mentioning that I have been told that some attempts to report this crime to 999 could not be made as the lines were busy.    

“I understand that there have been other incidents at shops in the High Street this week and, whilst they may be unrelated, I am concerned that rural areas like Roydon are not receiving the visible policing needed to deter criminal activity.”

Speaking to the Guardian this morning, one person claimed Hertfordshire Police arrived after 25 minutes and Essex Police took 50 minutes, but an Essex spokeswoman said a car arrived at the scene 2.12am.

She said: “We think that the response car arrived and assessed the scene and then searched the local area.”

Anyone with information should contact Loughton CID on 101 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.