A FAMILY-OWNED pie and mash shop was broken into by crooks who stole £1,000-worth of “large gas bottles”.

The owners of Eastenders Pie and Mash, located at the Duke Pub, in Wickford High Street, have been left “devastated” after the break-in on Tuesday night.

At roughly 9.30pm, masked crooks smashed through a cage that protected the gas bottles before making off with the them.

The incident has been reported to police, with the owners appealing for anyone with information about a black 55-plate car spotted leaving the area on CCTV.

Co-owner Sarah Johnson, 39, said: “To be honest, I think I feel devastated.

“I know everybody is struggling, therefore we do lots of things to help, including discounts and free meals for kids.

“We feel betrayed, massively.”

The shop was confident of re-opening yesterday so that it could fulfil a number of pre-orders for the vulnerable.

Sarah added: “So my husband is just trying to get the new connectors and he’s trying to find the gas man now to fit the new equipment in and we’re hoping he’s able to get all of that sorted.

“We’ve been up since about 6am trying to get them, and then we should be able to open again because we’ve got pre-orders today and one of them’s for an elderly, residential home.

“And obviously, if we don’t if we don’t supply them with their food, then they’ve not got anything as a backup plan.

“Don’t get me wrong, it would be so much easier to close up and then try and get sorted in a timelier manner.

“But we’ve got pre orders, and one of them is a residential home. That we can’t obviously not feed.”

Anyone with information should contact Essex Police on 101 to make a report.

Alternatively, report information, anonymously, through the crimefighting charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, or via https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.