eBay fears after £29,000 garden centre raid
A haul of stolen giftware worth £29,000 which was taken during a raid at a garden centre in Staffordshire could end up on auction website eBay, bosses said today.
A haul of stolen giftware worth £29,000 which was taken during a raid at a garden centre in Staffordshire could end up on auction website eBay, bosses said today.
More than 50 items of Elliot Hall enamel boxes, trinkets and vases were taken from Ashwood Nurseries near Kingswinford after thieves broke into the gift shop.
Staffordshire police have now launched a witness appeal following the robbery and are asking people with information to get in touch.
Nurseries manager Phillip Baulk, pictured here with items similar to those taken, said the 53 hand-painted items, made in Worcester, ranged in price from £99 to £2,000.
"I imagine they will try to sell them on ebay. I don't think they will take them to a car boot because of their value. They would be very easily identified. Each one has a certificate but we still have those. They are made by a small company and each one is hand-painted so they don't make that many. We have catologue images of them all."
"We hope anyone who saw anything or sees any of these items for sale will get in touch with police," said Mr Baulk.
Ransacking
Nurseries owner John Massey told the Express & Star yesterday how the raiders had forced their way in to the shop, smashing doors and ransacking shelves.
Security equipment and telephone and broadband lines were ripped out and money was also taken from a charity box on the shop counter as well as petty cash.
The cost of the damage caused to the gift shop at the nurseries in Ashwood Lower Lane during the raid on Wednesday night was estimated to be around £10,000.
He said: "It has been a nightmare. Unfortunately, this is one of the problems with being in business today. We had a rush against time to get the gift shop ready for a collectors' event on Thursday. We still have some repairs to do."
Ashwood Water Pumping Station and neighbouring properties were also affected when the telephone lines were cut.
Staffordshire Police spokesman Carol Evans appealed for witnesses or anyone with information to contact officers on 0300 123 4455.
