Raiders have smashed their way into two historic buildings on York’s famous Shambles.
A thief damaged the door to gain entry to the Earl Grey Tea Rooms early this morning (Tuesday).
They stole a till drawer and two charity boxes.
The police were informed and have been to the site this morning.
YorkMix spoke to Mandy, who’s worked at the tea room for decades, and she told us how she learned of the crime.
“I got a phone call at 5.15 this morning, from a member of staff from The Cheesecake Guy who saw the smashed window,” she said.
The Cheesecake Guy is directly opposite the Earl Grey Tea Rooms.
“The police were already there by the time I was called,” Mandy said, adding that this was the first break-in for the Earl Grey Tea Rooms in 28 years.
The intruder used a drain cover to smash the door window at about 1am.
Luckily, money wasn’t kept overnight in the shop, so they only got away with a till full of copper coins and two charity boxes. One was for a homeless charity, and another for the RSPCA.
Mandy said: “It’s just a lot of mess and hassle for not very much money.”
After coming in straight after the 5.15am phone call, Mandy had to wait until around 9am to clean up the mess. This was to allow the police to gather evidence.
Luckily, footage of the incident was captured by Kings Inn CCTV, the new pub waiting to open next door.
The staff at the tea room believe the Shambles is becoming a target. “I think there must be a spate at the moment,” Mandy said.
The Earl Grey raid came two days after the shop across the Shambles, home fragrance store Freckleface, experienced something similar.
Freckleface shared on their Facebook page yesterday that on Sunday (6 October), an intruder gained entry by smashing their 300 year old window during the night.
“Sadly our York Shambles store is closed as it was broken into last night, only an iPad and £50 taken but damage to 300 year old windows and lots of mess to clean up,” the post read.
The Earl Grey Tea Room is housed in a Grade II* listed building that dates back to the early 16th century. Freckleface is in Grade II listed shop that was once home to York Glass. It dates back to the 1800s.
Both businesses are now trading as normal.