THE owner of a Rochford barbershop has been left heartbroken after callous crocks carried out a smash and grab raid before trashing a 122-year-old antique till.
Kendrick’s Barbers, in North Street, was the victim of the burglary yesterday.
Crooks smashed their way in through the front door and grabbed a till dating back to 1902 from the countertop.
They left a trail of destruction in their wake as they fled the scene, leaving the till smashed in the street.
Owner Jonathan Kendrick has called the incident “heartbreaking” and has appealed for any witnesses to contact police with details.
Mr Kendrick, who woke to alarms blaring, said: “It is heartbreaking to see your premises like that, there was no reason for this to happen.
“We have a 1902 national cash register, a beautiful local antique, and it was smashed to pieces.
“We barely even take cash anymore.”
The smashed glass was replaced on Tuesday.
Mr Kendrick added: “We are busy, and we are trying to do the best we can, with the amount of money we have spent on the shop, to be mindlessly vandalised for our beautiful till is such a shock.
“I was the second owner of it, which is heartbreaking, we do have a lot of antiques in our store and that was one of the best.
“We have a big following in town, and we have a lot of clients too, we are trying to do big things and we have won an award last week, to put a positive spin on this, we are thriving, just the seven of us who run Kendrick’s.”
Mr Kendrick said the police had been “excellent”.
Officers are now appealing for witnesses to come forward.
A police spokesman said: “At 05.21am police were called to North Street, Rochford, where a retail property had been entered by force.
“Our Town Centre Team have attended the location and have been making enquiries.
“The investigation remains on-going, and police are keen to hear from anyone with any information.
“Please quote investigation reference 42/31365/24.”
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