'Wannabe ninjas' attempt to rob Vic stores

Three men armed with a sledge hammer have tried to break into four Victorian phone stores.

The men, dubbed "wannabe ninjas" by police, attempted to break into phone stores in Geelong, Camberwell and Elsternwick last Wednesday using a sledge hammer and some karate kicks, police said on Tuesday as they released CCTV footage of the hooded men.

The trio accessed the inside of a few of the stores but were unable to gain entry to the storage rooms and left empty handed in a stolen car, which was found dumped on Saturday.