Thieves who thought they had hit the jackpot after smashing through the floor and stealing a safe from a train station only got their hands on pre-ordered train tickets.

Newtown Train Station was hit by burglars at the weekend, who hoped to get their hands on money by stealing the safe.

But they were left with just a safe and tickets which have now been cancelled and are unusable.

The culprits broke in through an outside door and cut through a floor before making off the with the safe.

Gareth Marston, who runs Newtown Station Travel, was upset to discover the damage, but confirmed the thieves had made off with very little.

He said: “They’ve tunneled in through the floor and taken the safe, but in truth they’ve taken very little.

“We don’t keep cash on the premises, who does really.

“They have just taken tickets that have been pre-ordered by people, but those tickets have now been cancelled and they won’t be able to be used.

“Arriva Trains Wales have been informed of this and anyone trying to use these tickets will be stopped and picked up.

“They have no value for people to sell on so they are useless really, they have got away with nothing of value.

“It was upsetting to discover, but it was more of an annoyance and an inconvenience.

“We weren’t able to open until 11.30am because of police and scenes of crime officers, but they had to do their job.”

Gareth said security around the building has now been enhanced to prevent further break-ins from taking place.

It comes a week before the first anniversary of Gareth taking over the reigns of the station, from well known stalwart Peter Compton, who retired last year after 20 years.

Gareth admitted it was a less than ideal way to celebrate the first year.

He added: “People see a ticket office and they use it and business has been good.

“It is the first anniversary and this isn’t really the way we wanted to celebrate things, but so far everything has gone well. It is nice for people to have this facility here, and things were going along nicely until  Monday morning.”

The British Transport Police (BTP) are investigating the incident, but so far no arrests have been made.

A spokesperson said: “Officers from British Transport Police are investigating after a station office was broken into during the early hours of Monday morning.

“The incident at Newtown Station was reported to BTP by station staff at approximately 7.30am. 

“In order for the offenders to gain access to the building a significant amount of damage was caused.”

Officers appeal to anyone who has information to get in touch. 

If you were in the area during the early hours of Monday morning and noticed anyone acting suspiciously near the station, please contact police.

 It is believed a small petty cash container was taken.

Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by sending a text to 61016 or call 0800 40 50 40 quoting reference 61 of 27/03/2017. Alternatively, you can pass on information anonymously to the Crimestoppers line on 0800 555 111.