It’s been ‘business as usual’ at village gift shop The Cats Whiskers in Bishop’s Cleeve, despite a 3am ram raid last Thursday (December 19) that caused an estimated £10,000 worth of damage.
“Not quite the ‘smashing’ Christmas we had in mind!” the Cats Whiskers co-owner Tracey Bryant told GiftsandHome.net. “The burglars nicked the safe which was empty, and I would have loved to have seen their faces when they opened it!”
Her husband Chris added: “It is a real kick in the teeth for this to happen. Being a gift shop, we do suffer from shoplifting and you are always more wary at this time of year with people stealing money for Christmas presents,” he told Gloucestershire Live. But as he pointed out: “This would have been our busiest sale week of the year and it will impact on trade, so we were keen to let our loyal customers know that we are open for business and will be right up until Christmas Day.”
The shop reopened hours after the incident, and although customers are unable to enter through front door, it’s business as usual via the back entrance.
Two men were arrested in connection with the incident.
Top: The Cats Whiskers in Bishops Cleeve was ramraided last week.
