A POPULAR fish and chip shop in the Bradford district was "ransacked" during a break-in last night (Sunday).
Shop owner Carol Riley, who runs Rob's Plaice, on Crownest Road, Bingley, with her husband David, said: "It's an absolute mess. We can't open today."
She explained that CCTV showed a man jumping over a wall to try and gain access at around 6pm last night.
She said the man then came back at around 7pm, climbed onto the roof, moved all the tiles and made a hole in the roof to gain access.
"He went through the roof and landed next to the fryer.
"He grabbed a tool I use to cut fish with and used it to try to get into our till.
"But we never leave money on the premises.
"All the drawers were pulled open. The shop is an absolute mess.
"He eventually found a tip jar, taking £150 in tip money."
The incident is under investigation by West Yorkshire Police.
"We are investigating at burglary at this location," said a spokesperson for West Yorkshire Police. "Positive lines of enquiry are being carried out."
The fish and chip shop put a message on Facebook to notify its customers the break-in would force them to close the shop today.
The Facebook message by Rob's Plaice read: "Due to a break-in at Rob's Plaice last night we will be closed today as they have ransacked the shop and it’s not fit to open. Sorry for any inconvenience!"
Mrs Riley added: "We're hoping to get it up and running tomorrow."
"It's not good. I just don't why anyone would want to break into a fish and chip shop.
"We're a small little fish and chip shop but we're very popular in the community as we're the only fish shop in this area.
"We have lots of regulars and a lot of people have been saying how sorry they were to us on Facebook.
"Everybody's been really friendly to us over the years, so it's such a shame this has happened.
Mr and Mrs Riley bought Rob's Plaice five years ago and the previous owner operated the shop 13 years before that. She believes it was open before then too.
"It's been going a lot of years," said Mrs Riley. "I have to admit they are good fish and chips, but of course, I'm biased."
Anyone with information about the burglary is asked to contact police via 101 quoting reference number 13230128060.
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