Burglars broke into a carpet factory by climbing on to the roof, ripping off tiles and smashing their way through insulation – all to steal a £10 note.

Hundreds of pounds worth of damage was caused to the Carpet Sense building, in High Road, Laindon, after thieves lowered themselves down from the ceiling to raid the store.

Staff arrived at work to discover ceiling tiles had been broken and a filing cabinet containing documents and a till had been destroyed.

The till contained just £10, which was taken.

Assistant manager Steven Morgan said: “The alarmsystem went off and the police were notified.

“I came in and the place was a bit of a wreck. They had ripped the roof tyles up and smashed through the insulation and then there is a suspended ceiling underneath and they smashed through that.

“They completely ripped apart a metal filing cabinet, which had paperwork, and a till with just £10 inside.

“I don’t know why they smashed through the roof to burgle the place – it seems a lot of effort for just £10.

“They then smashed through the front door with a fire extinguisher.

“The police took the fire extinguisher away because there was blood on it, so they must have hurt themselves.”

The burglary is believed to have taken place on the evening of Saturday, September 26, or early hours of Sunday, September 27.

Sgt Angie Torrance, based at Basildon police station, said: “Suspects gained entry to the building through the roof and stole cash from the office.

“They then smashed through the front door glass with a fire extinguisher to get out.

“Roof tiles worth £250 were damaged and the smashed door glass was also worth £250.”

The burglary is believed to be linked to a spate of thefts at businesses across the borough over the same weekend Thieves broke into the White Rose laundrette, in Church Road, Basildon, and tried to access the coin compartment from a clothes dryer, causing £1,000 of damage.

They left empty-handed when they realised the machine only used tokens.

A free-standing safe containing £300 was also taken from Swinton Insurance, in Clay Hill Road, Basildon, after a window worth £1,000 was smashed.

Money from a cash box was stolen from the Citizens Advice Bureau, in the Basildon Centre, in St Martins Square.

Anyone with information can call Essex Police, on 101, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.