DOVER-FOXCROFT (AP) – Police were investigating a weekend burglary at Foxcroft Academy in which thieves tunneled through a brick wall to reach a safe.

The exact amount of the loot was unclear, but Police Chief Dennis Dyer said it appears that less than $1,000 and five credit cards were stolen.

Burglars first broke into the industrial arts building sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning to get a set of acetylene torches and tried to use them to burn down an office door and reach the safe.

At some point, they changed plans and used tools to pound through sheetrock and brick and then crawl through the hole and into the safe, the chief said.

“They made quite a mess,” said Dyer, who estimated that damage to the private school that serves tuitioned students from SAD68 will total a few thousand dollars.

AP-ES-12-22-03 0217EST