THE OWNER of a long-established family business has been left £500 out of pocket after crooks smashed in her front door and stole her till.

Julie, owner of Exclusive Fabrics, in Canvey Road, Canvey, arrived at her shop to find the front door smashed in and the till missing.

The break-in is thought to have happened in the early hours and meant Julie could not send her fitters out on time to customers as she could not access her stock room.

She said: “With the money I’ve spent having to fix everything at short notice, it’s like I’ve worked two weeks for nothing.

“Fortunately for me there is not an awful lot to steal, unless they had an interest in curtainmaking, so I’m grateful they did not trash the place. That’s a bit of a blessing. When it happens to you, you start to hear more about what has happened elsewhere.

“The float in the till only had about £60, so you find yourself, even though you’ve still been broken into, grateful that it wasn’t worse.

“I’ve had to change the locks, replace the glass in the front door, spend time clearing it all up and lose about a day of my time sorting it all out.”

The burglary followed a similar pattern to a spate of overnight raids that happened on the island late last month.

Three stores in Canvey Road and Furtherwick Road all had their front doors smashed in and tills taken.

A spokesman for Essex Police said: “Police are investigating a burglary at Exclusive Fabrics, in Canvey Road, Canvey.

“Suspects smashed the front door to gain entry at about 5am on Wednesday, April 29, and stole the till. Witnesses or anyone with information is asked to call police on 101.”