Thieves have staged a dramatic heist at Wolverhampton’s Monmore Green Stadium, using a road digger to smash through walls before fleeing with a safe reportedly containing up to £30,000.

Police say the greyhound track in Sutherland Avenue has been left with serious structural damage following the raid.

West Midlands Police spokesman Steve Garey said today: “A JCB or some similar tractor-type vehicle was driven through the walls of Monmore Green to gain entry.

“One safe was taken containing a substantial amount of money. It caused serious structural damage to the building.”

Dog racing was held as normal last night and hundreds of betting fans were expected for races tonight.

A stadium source, who did not want to be named, said: “It looked like an organised raid and there has been talk the thieves could have got away with £30,000.

“The races have been on as usual but the stadium was left in a mess.”

David Williams, spokesman for Ladbrokes which owns the site, said today: “We can confirm that the break-in did happen and that a significant amount of money was stolen.

“The people who did this made a right mess of the place and it was only due to extensive teamwork that the racing went ahead as normal on Thursday. The good news is that nobody was inside the building and therefore nobody was hurt.”

Monmore Green staff today refused to comment on the heist, which happened between 5pm on Wednesday night and 8am Thursday morning.

Ettingshall councillor Bishan Dass today spoke of his shock at the raid. He said: “This will be a big blow to staff morale. This is the worst time, right in the middle of the credit crunch, to have any money stolen from the premises. It’s very sad news.”

Anyone with information should call Wednesfield Police on 0845 113 5000.