Safe ripped from charity shop wall in latest Market Drayton burglary

The break-in at the Barnardo's shop at Cheshire Street in Market Drayton was discovered at about 8.30am today when staff arrived to open up the shop.

Manager Lisa Hoole said a glass panel in the front door had been broken for the burglar to gain entry, and that a side door was left open.

She said: "They took the safe and just over £200 inside it. The safe was bolted to the wall, there's no obvious tools left but I assume they must have had some kind of bars or something to jam it free.

"They also made a mess of the doors and locks. They have smashed the front pane in the door, and there is a side door locked by two inner locks.

"That was open when we came this morning so we think they have exited through that way."

Lisa said the break-in probably happened between 10pm and 4am, soon before the bi-weekly market's stallholders began setting up.

"You feel gutted because we work every day to try and make good money for the charity, and then people just come in and take it," she said.

"That is some money that could go to the charity."

She also said that she is keen to join Market Drayton's fledgling Shopwatch scheme. The town's police officers are working to formalise the scheme after a successful meeting two weeks ago.

Market Drayton's safer neighbourhood team began work on setting the Shopwatch programme up after a series of break-ins and attempted burglaries in the town earlier this year.

Anyone with information on the break-in at Barnardo's is asked to call 101, citing incident number 0129s of June 5.