A couple of thieves riding mopeds allegedly purposefully crashed through a coffee shop and a hairdressers in a west London street on Christmas day, costing around £8,000 worth of damage.
Remarks
The owners of the places, said the raid lasted “less than a minute” and had caused £8,000 worth of damage. The Metropolitan Police had woken up Neil Vanstone and his wife Rebecca to tell them their shop had been broken into. The couple had just returned home after being in Kent for a vacation with their extended family.
Vanstone told Standard: “It’s not something you expect, especially on Christmas Day. The first thought you have is about your family, it is quite traumatic.”
Police Report
According to the police, the two suspects used a black moped to crash through the door of the coffee shop. Witnesses have reported to hear “five loud bangs.” Mr Vanstone said: “The neighbors said they heard five loud bangs when they were ramming into the door of the shop.”
“They’ve destroyed the door and the surround but they were in and out in less than a minute.”Thankfully, nothing was stolen from the café. Vanstone said: “They were clearly looking for cash but we never leave cash inside overnight.
“They have broken the till which is going to cost us around £2,000 to replace. On Christmas Day of all days, what makes people stoop that low?”
Police says that just minutes later, the same suspects also raided a hairdresser also on Thames road, Cascade Hairdressing. According to Vanstone, neighbors reported hearing “two loud bangs.”
“It took them slightly less time to get into the hairdressers but the owners were sleeping upstairs and confronted them before chasing them off.”
The couple said the incident had “ruined Christmas”, leaving them feeling “alone and vulnerable.” However, they also say they’ve had “unwavering support” from their customers. “We’ve had messages of support on Facebook, I’ve had texts, emails, people inviting us for coffee.
“It’s like having your family around you. That’s what’s made it bearable for us, having an excellent community around us. I just want to catch these people are get them off our streets and away from our neighborhood.”