Staff at one of Bradford’s biggest stores have been left feeling the heat after thieves broke its air conditioning unit by stealing the copper piping.

Repairs to the unit at Staples stationery store in Valley Road, Bradford, are expected to cost up to £8,000, although metal valued at only £30 to £80 was stolen.

Police have said plans are now being put in place to mount more operations to tackle the theft and supply of stolen metal in the area.

Staff at the store have been battling on through the heat of the last few weeks without air conditioning following the theft.

Manager Mark Fletcher said the thieves ripped the doors off air conditioning units at the back of Staples and PC World next to it, to steal the copper piping.

He said: “We haven’t had any air conditioning since then – we are waiting for the insurance and all the repairs to come round.

“Obviously it’s not been particularly pleasant for customers and the staff are coping really well, all helping out and being really positive about it, so that’s good to see.

“I can’t understand how people don’t have any thought for what they do and how it impacts people. It seems nobody has any compassion for anybody else.

“They say ‘I want this, so I’m going to take it’, but they don’t think about what it’s going to do to other people and the overall cost of it.”

Police have said the theft is believed to have taken place between 1.20am and 2am on Saturday, July 2.

Officers attended and checked CCTV in the area as part of their inquiries.

Sergeant Dave Collyer, of the Eccleshill Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “NPT officers and partners recently mounted an operation in the area to check scrap yards and metal dealers for stolen property as part of ongoing activities to tackle the theft of metal.

“Plans are now being put in place to mount more proactive operations in the Eccleshill area over the coming weeks to address the theft and supply of stolen metal and I would ask anyone who has information about metal theft in Eccleshill to contact us at the NPT on (01274) 376168.”

Anyone with information about the theft has been asked to contact PC Kevin Lord at Airedale and North Bradford Police on 0845 6060606.