Two shop owners whose stores have been targeted by thieves in the last week say they no longer feel safe working in a dairy.

Dimpal Kumar, owner of Matua dairy in Tauranga, says he is fed up and thinking of selling after his shop was ramraided in the early hours of Monday morning.

'This is the fourth ramraid attack in a year. It's not safe to be working in a diary. The shop is damaged – yet again. We've been here 10 years, but it's dangerous now. We've had enough.”

Kumar says there were three young people in the car, and one of them entered the store with a crow bar and smashed eggs and other food.

A car is removed from the entrance of Matua dairy, Tauranga, after it was used in a ramraid. Video: Supplied.

Meanwhile, another dairy in the upmarket suburb was robbed when a person entered the store with a weapon at 11am on February 1. The owner of the Matua food market, who did not want to be named, says the member of staff in the store, Samir Kansara, at the time was 'terrified”.

'A person came in with a long screwdriver, and a big metal tool like you use to change a tyre. He emptied the cash out of the till and took all the smokes and vapes.”

The business owner agreed it was no longer safe to run a diary.

'But we are back at work. People have mortgages and bills to pay so what can you do?”

A store in Tilby Drive, Matua, Tauranga was the target of an armed robbery. Photo: Supplied/Stuff.

Kansara expressed gratitude to the community who he says had given an outpouring of support.

Police confirmed that a stolen vehicle was used to gain entry to the Matua dairy at about 3.10am on February 6, and that police attended and are making enquiries.

Police also responded to the armed robbery.

'Police recovered a vehicle involved in the robbery, and stolen cigarettes and cash. A youth has been taken into custody, charges are being determined. Inquiries are ongoing.”

A Matua resident, who Stuff agreed not to name, says he was 'gutted” for dairy owners.

'You can see why Dimpal would think of selling up and who could blame him? He has to keep his family safe. It's abhorrent that this is happening. They are such hard-working people who put in long hours.”

There has been a wave in raids on dairy owners across the country over the past year.

- Annemarie Quill/Stuff.