£3k damage for theft of two laptops

These pictures show the gaping hole left by burglars who smashed their way into a business in Darlaston before escaping with two laptops.

Bosses at Ufit UPVC believe the raiders spent hours battering down a wall at the back of the building. Repairs were carried out within hours of workers arriving at their St Johns Road base and discovering the damage.

Site manager Adam Hughes was today counting the cost of the break-in, expected to rise to more than £3,000.

"It's going to cost £200 for materials to repair the building, luckily I have got somebody in house to do it which saves a bit of money," the 44-year-old said.

"To replace the laptops is going to cost up to £500 apiece and there was about £2,000 of software on one of the machines."

The software is used by the firm to process orders and no replacement is available for a month, meaning there will be an inevitable slowing of its operation, Mr Hughes added.

The situation has prompted the company to offer a £1,000 reward for the return of the laptops. "There's ways and means of us taking orders – I'm investigating at the moment – but whatever happens, it will slow us down," he said.

"We have been doing quite well lately, but this will have an impact."

The firm supplies conservatories, French doors, front and back doors and porches to homes across the country.

Police today confirmed the burglary, happened between workers shutting up for the day on Sunday and when they arrived to open up at 7am on Monday. Spokeswoman Gina Lycett said: "Thieves removed bricks from a side wall before gaining access."