Burglars cut through Desborough Co-op security shutters with power tools to steal tills

The three men sliced through metal shutters to get into the Gladstone Street Co-op in order to break into the tills between 10.20pm and 11pm on Saturday (February 22).

But not only were the tills empty, the gang triggered an anti-burglary device filling the store with smoke.

A spokesman for Central Co-op said: “Central Co-op is dedicated to tackling retail crime and continues to campaign to bring it to an end.

“Like many other retailers, we’ve invested in a range of security measures to deter criminals, such as 24/7 CCTV, alarm systems with remote monitoring across all of our sites, and our ‘smoke cloak’ deterrent which proved successful with this case in Desborough.

“We also ensure that we never keep cash on-site overnight at any of our stores.

“Despite these measures, attempted thefts present a significant cost to businesses on our high streets as well as having a profound impact on front-line retail staff and the communities we serve.

“We’ll continue to work with the police, community partners and various crime agencies to stop these prolific offenders, often associated with organised criminal gangs, and bring them to justice.”

Witnesses or anyone with information should call Northamptonshire Police on 101 quoting incident number 25000107147.