Burglars take safe and £8,000

Burglars struck at a Black Country pub in a night-time raid, escaping with the safe and £8,000 cash stashed inside.

Thieves targeted The Mad O'Rourke's Pie Factory in Camp Hill, Wordsley, in the early hours yesterday. Police are linking the break-in to a report of three men seen acting suspiciously outside the pub at 5.30am on Bonfire Night. Pub owner Pete Towler says the burglars caused £7,000 worth of damage when they forced the side doors with a crowbar.

It is the second time the pub has been targeted this year, the previous gang leaving Mr Towler with a £20,000 repair bill and making off with a safe containing £9,000.

He has already acted to protect his premises from future attacks, installing a £10,000 security system to ward off the threat.

"Fortunately we had banked our Saturday takings so it's not as bad as it could have been. We just want these thieves to know that we have completely beefed up our security system now."

Mr Towler said the safe weighed around three quarters of a ton and did not know how it could have been lifted out. Det Insp Will O'Connor, from Halesowen CID, said: "This burglary happened overnight on Sunday. The owner is downloading the CCTV footage for us.

"We are linking this to a report we received from a man walking his dog who disturbed three men with a white Transit van who appeared to be trying to force a cellar door at 5.30am on November 5."

Anyone with information should call police at Halesowen CID on 0845 113 5000.