Sweet shop burglary leaves owner 'heartbroken'

A sweet shop owner said she was "heartbroken" after a group of thieves broke into her store and stole costly confectionery.

Hannah Barton opened Simpson's Sweets and Milkshakes in Framlingham, Suffolk, about six years ago.

On Tuesday evening, CCTV footage seen by the BBC captured the moment a group of young males broke into the premises on Bridge Street and took money and about £200 of sweets and snacks.

"It is so heart-breaking really and very sad because it is not easy running a business," Barton said.

Barton, 48, was sitting at home watching television when she was told that the group had been seen climbing into her shop through a window.

She told the BBC that she believed two of the group had held up the "heavy sash window" while three accomplices ransacked the shop.

During the break-in, which took place at about 21:30 GMT, the hooded figures took cash and expensive American sweets.

They also pocketed "lots of chocolate, crisps and even drinks" before reportedly leaving the scene in a vehicle.

"It's just me and a couple of staff, and a lot of what I buy is American, which is expensive because I have to pay for it to be imported," Barton said.

"They were just grabbing as much as they could, but they definitely targeted the higher-value items – and now I'm not going to get any of that back."

Barton said she had never expected to be burgled because Framlingham is "a nice, close-knit community" with "lovely people".

"It's the audacity of them to do this when it was not even that late, and the road is quite a busy one and there's lots of people milling about," she said.

Barton told the BBC she feared the group might return but would take measures to improve security.

"I've got to work in here all day today, but it's not nice knowing that somebody's [gone] through my shop," she said.

Suffolk Police said it had launched an investigation into the burglary and appealed for anyone with information to come forward.

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