A THIEF who raided a popular Lebanese eatery in the heart of Reading caused more than £6,000 worth of damage.

Bakery House, on London Road, was broken into on the night of Saturday, June 26 with a robber smashing the restaurant’s windows to gain entry.

Once inside, the thief took around £100 in cash and caused £6,000 worth of damage.

Reading Chronicle:

Manager Mohamad Skeik told the Chronicle he found out about the break in when a friend told him community support officers were standing at the shattered door of the restaurant.

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He said: “My reaction was complete shock. I left my house immediately in a hurry to get to the restaurant and see what had happened.

“The robber took the till drawer with the cash from there.

“They completely smashed up the front door which cost us a large amount to get replaced in order to re-open.

Reading Chronicle:

“They also damaged the till which is an extremely expensive piece of equipment and we don’t have a replacement at the moment as it will cost us thousands to replace it so we are looking at other options.”

Despite the break-in, Bakery House re-opened on Monday, June 28.

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M Skeik said he wanted to show the community that this incident would not shut them down.

He added: “Bakery House is an independently run small business, therefore we never can let something like this keep us closed.

“We have had such a hard time over the past two years with being forced to close at various points and losing the income of the restaurant, therefore we have to pick ourselves up and get on with our passion and our love of cooking and serving the Reading community.

“We will not let this disaster keep us down and we want to be doing what we do best!”

A Thames Valley Police spokesperson said: “Thames Valley Police was called at around 9.30am on Sunday (June 27) to a report of a smashed window at a premise in London Street, Reading.

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“It is believed to have happened overnight. Entry was forced and a search conducted. Cash is believed to have been taken.

“An investigation is ongoing.

“Anyone with information can contact police by calling 101 or making a report online, quoting reference 43210282757.”