Callous thieves armed with a pickaxe wrecked a farm shop to steal a safe – only to discover it was empty.
CCTV footage shows two balaclava-clad men forcing their way into the small business under the cover of darkness on Sunday (27 September) night.
One uses a pickaxe to smash through a wooden panel before repeatedly striking the safe.
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The pair then attach a tow rope to the box and allegedly use a vehicle to rip it from the building.
But they had little to show for their efforts because the safe had not been used since the business went cashless.
The raid caused such extensive damage that the farm shop’s owner fears it may no longer be viable to continue trading.
Police were called at around 10:30pm following reports of a burglary in progress, as reported by Need To Know.
Suffolk Police said the suspects were dressed in black and wearing balaclavas.
A force spokesperson said: “One of the suspects has then tied a tow rope around the safe, and the other end of the rope is suspected to have been tied around the towbar of a vehicle outside the premises.
“The safe has then been ripped away, causing significant damage to the shed.
“The suspects left the scene in a vehicle, travelling along Folly Road before joining Tot Hill.”
The farm shop, which sells free-range eggs, honey and beeswax products, was damaged beyond repair.
Its devastated owner said: “It is with great sadness after all the hard work that goes into running our farm and little shop but a couple of delights ram raided it to remove an un-used empty safe since going cashless causing extensive damage beyond repair.
“We need some time to work out a plan going forward and whether it will be viable to continue with high costs to make a more secure way of selling our goods, as Haughley has regrettably seen such a high spell of crime in the recent years.
“To everyone who has taken the time to phone, message or comment on the social media posts, we thank you so much.
“We are sorry we haven’t been able to reply to everyone individually, the outpouring of support has been almost overwhelming.
“After this disappointment it is so nice to see that there are so many caring people out there.
“We have had lots of amazing people offer advice, help or donations, and we are so grateful and really appreciate this, but we are not after charity, we just want to find a safe way forward to keep supplying our local produce to the community.
“Once again, thank you so much for the support, it really means so much to a small business.”
Police are reviewing CCTV as they attempt to identify the vehicle and those involved.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police quoting crime reference 37/57378/26.
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