Raiders hit York Bathrooms in Nether Poppleton

Mark Redpath, owner of York Bathrooms, on York Business Park in Nether Poppleton, said he felt violated after the thieves ransacked the showroom, stealing £2,500 in cash, his laptop and a plasma TV screen used to display his products to customers.

Mark has just rebranded the business, formerly known as Edward’s Bathrooms, after buying out business partners he set it up with two and a half years ago.

He said the thieves must have been in the showroom, maybe posing as customers, to know the layout for the burglary. He said: “I’m really frustrated. They must have cased the joint. There’s no way that without coming into these premises they would have been able to do that.”

The burglars climbed on to the 20 ft high roof and cut a hole in the middle of it to get into the showroom.

“They brought ladders with them and climbed up 20 feet and then cut open the roof like they were breaking into the Kremlin, but we’re a bathroom showroom!” he said.

Mark left the premises at 4.30pm on Saturday and found the damage when he returned to the site on Monday morning. But he said a neighbouring business’s CCTV footage shows four men on the site at about 1.45am on Sunday.

Although the electrical equipment is covered by insurance, Mark has lost the cash deposits from Saturday, his busiest day of the week. “I should have taken it away, and ordinarily if England weren’t playing, I would never leave cash in the showroom,” he said.

But what hurts the most, he said, was losing two-and-a-half years’ worth of photos of his baby son which were stored on his laptop along with crucial client information. He is now offering a cash reward for the safe return of the laptop.

“I do take it personally. It’s almost like they’re stealing food from my family. I have a pregnant wife and a two and a half year old son,” he said.

North Yorkshire Police has urged any witnesses to phone them 0845 6060247 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.