Gladrags back in business after burglar clears out shop

A clothing shop in Burnham High Street re-opened for business on Monday after a burglar ransacked the shop.

In the early hours of Saturday, September 3, a man kicked a hole into the window of Gladrags before sliding through it and stealing the majority of the shop's clothing and jewellery.

The thief can be seen on the shop's CCTV repeatedly entering the shop by squeezing through the hole for a whole hour.

The ordeal was recorded as lasting between 3.46am and 4.46am.

The owner of the shop Sylvia Smith, said: "They [referring to the man] took a lot of stuff, you can see them taking things out and they seem to be dropping it and coming back.

"They cleared all my jewellery cabinets out and they took my business cards which was a bit weird."

Miss Smith estimates that between the loss of clothes and jewellery and the cost of repairing the shop's front window, the burglary has cost her business between £8,000 and £10,000.

The shop has been closed for a week in order to restock and buy whatever it can afford.

The 42-year-old added: "I couldn't believe it when I got to the shop and saw the hole in the front window, you couldn't fit a child through it."

Footage from the shop’s CCTV shows the burglar as a tall but fairly slim man wearing a hoodie.

"I don't know how he's got in and out of this hole,” said Miss Smith, who only found out about the break-in when police called her later that morning.

"When I got in, I got a shock, a big one.

"They broke all of my mannequins, all they left was one clothes rail."

A lot of what was stolen included high value clothes used for weddings and special events such as Royal Ascot.

Police confirmed it is investigating the burglary but no arrests have been made.

Anyone with information should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.