FGS boss Fred Smith fears for Oakenshaw shop (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

FGS boss Fred Smith fears for Oakenshaw shop

8:20am Wednesday 8th July 2009 in

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A Bradford businessman faces ruin after a fourth break in at his shop in months.

Fed-up Fred Smith is urging police to take tougher action after the series of ram raids and burglaries has cost him tens of thousands of pounds.

Mr Smith is hoping his security measures will track down the culprits after the suspects in the latest break-in were captured on his CCTV cameras.

The spate of incidents at his computer shop, FGS, in Bradford Road, Oakenshaw, began last November with a burglary and an attempted break-in.

In January, a high-powered Subaru car was driven through the front of the shop in a ram raid.

The latest raid happened late at night when a gang of men with pickaxes got out of a car and forced their way through the shop’s metal shutters.

Mr Smith said: “It’s all on camera. They piled out of a car, there were three of them and the driver prised at the shutters and forced the security bolts off the brickwork. Then they smashed the windows to get in.

“It’s taken quite a long time for them to get in. But when police arrived they had gone.

“We have an alarm system which links to the police but we are just over the border into the Dewsbury division and the nearest available unit had to come from Batley, instead of being able to get police from Bradford.

“They have only stolen a couple of laptops, worth about £100 each, because of extra security measures we have taken, but we have lost goods worth £20,000 every time in the previous raids.

“We have also the cost of the damage. We have had to get a new £1,000 shutter, display cabinets at a cost of £1,500 and £500 or £600 to replace the glass windows. We lost two days’ takings because we had to close to put the shop back together. It all adds up.”

Mr Smith said the business had also been hit by credit card and cheque book fraudsters.

He added: “We are about to go out of business. We are on our last chance with the insurance company. If we lose the shop, the community will lose out.”

Detective Inspector Andy White, of Dewsbury CID, said two people had been arrested in connection with the ram raid in January, but there had been insufficient evidence to pursue the case.

He said: “I will review all the evidence and if there are any outstanding lines of inquiry we will pursue them.

“We will be looking at the CCTV evidence in the latest incident and I will go to see Mr Smith personally. Crime prevention officers will also be going to see him.

e-mail: steve.wright@telegraphandargus.co.uk