Co-owner of burgled Wiltshire store offers advice to other retailers

The store was the second targeted by axe-wielding thieves following a break-in at a Costcutter in St Margaret’s Mead, Marlborough.

The gang stole £8,000 worth of cigarettes and cause approximately £3,000 of damage.

Connolly praised the police for their response: “Wiltshire Police were fantastic in their quick response, arranging CSI and kept us informed,” she said.

“The second heroes of the day were Imperial Tobacco. They came straight out. Made the gantry safe and planned installation of a new system. Last but not least a huge thank you to all the retailers that reached out. It means an awful lot.

“These were a very dangerous gang armed with axes and baseball bats. Thankfully no one was around. We as retailers want to protect our business but please stay safe and let them leave, do not try to stop them.”

In addition to warning against being a have-a-go hero, “Products can be replaced but people can’t,” Connolly offered much more advice to other retailers in a subsequent LinkedIn post.

“I want to use this post to highlight to other retailers about what they can do. We cannot stop this from happening but we can make it harder for the criminals,” she wrote.

“Yes, what happened, happened. We lost stock and damaged was caused but it still could have been worse.

The first tip I have for retailers is mop your floor last thing every night if you don’t already. Due to this we were able to get trainers prints from the criminals. It doesn’t seem a lot but it the case of prosecution it goes a long way.

“If you have a cigarette gantry, make sure it is locked properly. Ours was which seemed to surprise them. Due to this it delayed them causing them to panic, still unfortunately missing the police but it wasn’t by much.

“Make sure your alarms are working as they should. Do a test once a month. We do this and our alarm system worked as it should. It rang me and I was able to head to the store immediately.

“CCTV cameras are vital. Look at installing them if you do not have them. Make sure all cameras are clear of cobwebs, spiders and rain marks etc.

“Do you own press release when incidents happen. Get hold of your local radio, news and newspaper. We have managed to get this incident over the whole of Wiltshire. I did a radio piece, it’s online and possibly on TV thanks to BBC Radio Wiltshire picking up the story.

“By doing this you inform all other retailers in your area and send a message to the criminals that we will not be beat and we are getting wiser by the day. It also reinforces the cry for help with retail crime both with the police and government.”