Family-run toy shop ransacked as raiders steal £20,000 worth of bikes and toys

Thieves caused thousands of pounds worth of damage before making off with 60 bikes and expensive toy sets.

Dan Price, owner of BD Price Superstore, next to the area where over sixty bikes were stolen

A family-run toy shop is devastated after burglars stole bicycles and toys worth £20,000 and caused thousands of pounds in damage.

Police are investigating after raiders ransacked BD Price Ltd in Sedgley over the weekend after breaking in through the back door.

Shop owner Dan Price said: “I’m devastated at what has happened."

The scene inside the shop when BD Price opened on Monday

He continued: "I feel pig sick because this will need a lot of sorting out and we will have to ascertain what has gone on.

“They pulled off the shutters (at the back) and jimmied the rear doors open.

"They smashed the alarm up and took about 60 bikes and a lot of expensive toys and left the shop in absolute chaos.

“What they didn’t take they emptied out of boxes and chucked in piles.”

Mr Price is the fourth generation of his family to run the business, which has been based in Sedgley for more than 100 years.

He discovered the burglary when opening his shop on Monday morning, after the store had been closed since Saturday evening.

He walked in the store to find bicycles, toys and boxes scattered in a mess across the shop, while shutters and the alarm system were damaged.

Around sixty bikes were stolen alongside expensive toy sets such as Lego, Playmobil and other models.

The stolen stock was worth around £20,000, while burglars caused around £2,000 of damage, said Mr Price.

An empty shelf where expensive Lego toys once stood

The shop has been targeted by burglars in the past.

Forensic teams from West Midlands Police have been on the scene combing for clues, but Mr Price said he has yet to be contacted for a statement.

Officers were due to visit him yesterday, but an appointment was rearranged for tomorrow.

He said: “Police haven’t had a statement from me yet.

“Nobody has been here to take one. I feel absolute disgusted.

“How are they supposed to solve anything when they don’t know what they are looking for.”

Mr Price next to the remains of his shutter

He added: “Apparently no one heard anything.

“To pull the shutters off the building, that would make a row.”

A West Midlands Police spokesman said: “We were called at 9.10am on Monday to reports of a burglary at BD Price Ltd, High Holborn, Sedgley.

“This is believed to have happened sometime between 5pm on Saturday and Monday morning.

“Forensic officers went to the scene on Monday to gather evidence.”

Dan Price, owner of BD Price Superstore, Sedgley, next to the area where over sixty bikes were stolen from his shop

Sedgley UKIP ward councillor Bill Etheridge criticised West Midlands Police.

He said: “BD Price is a long established family shop in Sedgley. Most people who come from the area have had some dealing with them. It appears police don’t care.

“If it was a hate crime police would be much quicker to react, but because it is a small businessman whose livelihood has been damaged, it appears they have put this on the back burner. I will be visiting the shop in due course.”

BD Price used to operate in Sedgley Bullring before moving to its current premises.

Sedgley Conservative ward councillor Michael Evans added: “I feel very sorry for Mr Price. He is very well established in Sedgley.”

He said: “I’m extremely concerned about the way the police is going overall. I don’t think we are getting the support off police like we used to."

Anyone with information can call police on 101 or contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800555111