UK COMPUTERS STOLEN http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/news/Raiders-steal-163-10-000-gear-dealership/article-3137965-detail/article.html

Raiders steal £10,000 of gear from dealership

By Heather Pickstock

A GARAGE owner has been left devastated after thieves broke into his business, stealing office equipment and car parts worth thousands of pounds.

Adam Boreham, 34, arrived at his Oaklands Automotives car dealership at Kenn Road, Clevedon, on Monday morning to discover raiders had struck during the early hours.

The thieves took the alarm box off the building and dropped it into a bucket of cleaning fluid used to valet cars to disable it.

They then forced their way into the showroom by knocking their way through a fire door using what police believe was a crowbar before finding the back-up alarm battery box inside the building and smashing it from the wall.

Once inside they stole two sets of alloy wheels from the showroom worth £600 each.

They then smashed their way through a door into the office and stole two Mac computers, four Seimens phones and a Nikon digital camera worth £800.

They also jacked up an Audi A4 parked on the forecourt and stole its alloy wheels worth £2,000, leaving the car perched on breeze blocks.

The thieves also took a set of wheel trims of a Ford Mondeo parked on the forecourt and broke into a Vauxhall Corsa, bending back the drivers' door.

Mr Boreham was forced to close the business yesterday while scenes of crime officers carried out a detailed search of the premises.

Mr Boreham, who relocated the business from Congresbury to Kenn last April, estimated the thieves made off with goods worth around £10,000 and caused a further several thousand pounds worth of damage.

Mr Boreham said: "The thieves caused a lot of damage to the building as well as making off with the goods.

"The bill to repair the damage is likely to run into thousands and I estimate it will cost me at least £1,500 to replace the alarm system alone.

"It looks like they smashed their way through the fire door into the building using a crowbar as some of the render has been knocked off the wall.

"The thieves got into the showroom first and then smashed their way into the office.

"They must have been here for some time as it is not a quick job to remove wheels from a car and they must have had a van to be able to take all the stuff away.

"I feel completely shell-shocked that this has happened and am now considering putting up a reward for information leading to the conviction of the people responsible."

Police have launched an investigation into the raid and are appealing to anyone with information to contact them on 0845 456 7000.