Thieves smash up Sunderland sea front coffee shop to steal just £10 in change

The Hideout Coffee House, on the Lower Promenade at Roker, was targeted between Sunday night, July 5, and the next morning, with a thief smashing out six glass bricks in its side window after scaling a bank to reach it.

They managed to get a small amount of cash left in the till then riffled through tins and boxes in a failed bid to find anything else of worth.

Owner Hayley Dobbing, who runs the business with sister-in-law Janet Blasi, was alerted by a customer who spotted the damage early on Monday.

The pair, who took on the derelict building in 2018, worked to clear up the mess and were serving customers by 11am.

It started to offer a takeout service from mid-June after a pause to trade during the coronavirus lockdown.

Police are investigating the break-in, which also left barbed wire on the roof damaged.

Arrangements are being made to install a shutter on the side window, with all other windows and doors already protected.

The business owners, who are helped by Janet’s husband Luca and two staff members, have been inundated with supportive messages from their customers after they shared their upset on Facebook in the wake of the break-in.

Hayley said: “I don’t know if whoever did it had something with them to cut the metal bars inside the window, as they were bent as well, but when they got in, they ransacked the place

“I think people are generally angry about it and don’t understand why people just can’t leave things as they are.

“Fausto had its windows smashed a couple of weeks ago, so I don’t know if someone is trying to get into the businesses along here, but we just want them to leave us alone.

“We’ve worked so hard to get this place up and running, so this makes us so angry.”

Anyone who can help Northumbria Police with inquiries is asked to call 101 or use the Tell Us Something page on the force’s website.

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