THE actions of thieves who targeted a Prees dog grooming business have been branded “needless”.

Louise Lamb of Mutneys Professional Pet Care today spoke to the Whitchurch Herald following the incident which saw expensive equipment stolen from the company’s warehouse on Prees Industrial Estate.

Staff turned up to work on Thursday morning (December 6) when they found the building had been broken into overnight.

Louise, 37, revealed how upsetting it was for the staff to come in to their place of work after the incident.

She said: “We were all very confused when we turned up and we just didn’t really want to believe it had happened.

“The staff were all very upset when they came in.

“One of the most frustrating things about it was the fact they have made such a mess inside.

“We make and supply dog grooming equipment – which they have taken a lot of.

“There was no money on the site, we’re not a shop as such, we sell products online, so we don’t keep cash on the premises.

“Breaking in and stealing things is bad enough, but they’ve made such a mess by chucking stuff on the floor and breaking things – it’s just needless.

“It really does add insult to injury.”

The family-owned business has been running for 20 years, and recently moved its premises to the new site on the industrial estate temporarily.

Staff are now hoping that they can do their best to get back on track with one of the busiest times of the year getting nearer.

She added: “We’ve only been here at this warehouse for five or six weeks while we wait for our usual base to undergo some work.

“I think we were all really just starting to settle here, and then this has happened to set us back.

“We spent the afternoon on Thursday trying to clean up inside and get the shop back to how it was. We’re back open as normal now while the police deal with the matter.

“We have a trade show on the weekend that we want to get ready for, so we wanted to open up again as soon as possible.

“There are only nine or 10 staff here, so we are all just trying to get back on track now ahead of this very busy period and do our best to make sure we don’t let our customers down leading up to Christmas.”

Louise gave her thanks to the police, who she said have worked hard to help them after the burglary.

She said: “The police have been great helping us get back up and running and in trying to get to the bottom of things.

“It’s just shocking to think how upsetting it was to find our place of work in such a mess, but then to imagine people who have this sort of thing done to their homes is horrible.

“Just to see your possessions all over the floor and in pieces – it’s really upsetting.”

Police are investigating the burglary and are appealing for any witnesses who saw or heard anything to contact West Mercia Police on 101, quoting crime reference 22/108752/18 or incident 151s of 061218.

Alternatively, contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111