A café in York was targeted by thieves leaving damage that will cost thousands to repair.
At around 6.30 am on Tuesday, Brunch Time on Oak Street, Holgate, had their front door smashed and the interior completely ransacked.
The thieves took around £200 in cash and left a trail of destruction in their path.
Dane Smith owns a business that operates within Brunch Time. On Tuesday morning he was met by the “obliterated” door, a mess all over the floor, and their CCTV ripped out.
Staff believe the cost to fix the door, the till, and install a new CCTV system will amount to around £5,000.
The thieves also helped themselves to a couple of business phones that were left under the counter.
From what Dane understands, the crime was carried out by two individuals on bikes, who had been targeting businesses that morning.
He was informed a secondhand shop on Holgate Road and another business in town were also subject to break-ins.
As well as the intrusion, what was concerning for the staff at Brunch Time was the delays in opening.
Dane told YorkMix: “It was quite frustrating from our point of view, because obviously we’ve got a business to run, so we had to open up pretty quick.”
They were awaiting police officers to arrive and carry out forensics, but after a few hours they decided to open regardless.
“The owner turned up and said to just open. So we opened it, but left everything where it was, so we didn’t contaminate any fingerprints or anything, the till was left on the floor.” He added.
Business owner, Raf Motin, posted about the incident on Facebook, offering a £5,000 reward for anyone who can help identify the criminals.
The post received comments such as, “Horrible people out there, absolutely disgusting”, and, “Sorry to see this! Absolute scumbags!”
Raf told YorkMix the whole ordeal was, “a headache over Christmas time”.
The news follows what appears to be a string of break-ins targeting York businesses during recent months.
Dane said: “A lot of customers who’ve come in have kind of said there’s a lot more of this going on, it does seem to be more frequent.”
North Yorkshire Police gave this comment regarding the incident:
“This is currently under investigation. It was reported as having happened overnight on 16 to 17 December when two suspects broke into the café and stole an amount of cash from the till.
“Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 quoting reference 12240229714.”