Ram raiders steal tens of thousands of pounds worth of gardening equipment in Harborough

A gang of four men ram-raided a shop in Market Harborough yesterday (Sat) and stole tens of thousands of pounds worth of gardening equipment.
Colin Smith owner of Diamond Mowers after £30,000 worth of equipment was stolen during the ram raid.
PICTURE: ANDREW CARPENTER NNL-180819-124434005Colin Smith owner of Diamond Mowers after £30,000 worth of equipment was stolen during the ram raid.
PICTURE: ANDREW CARPENTER NNL-180819-124434005
Colin Smith owner of Diamond Mowers after £30,000 worth of equipment was stolen during the ram raid. PICTURE: ANDREW CARPENTER NNL-180819-124434005

The ram-raid happened at 12.20am at Diamond Mowers, which is at Sutton Court, Bath Street.

The whole raid took around three minutes, from a car smashing into the front of the premises, to the four men driving off in a van filled with £25,000 to £30,000 of equipment.

Business boss Colin Smith told the Mail: “We can see the whole thing on CCTV.

The moment a car is used to ram the fron entrance of Diamond Mowers. NNL-180819-124522005The moment a car is used to ram the fron entrance of Diamond Mowers. NNL-180819-124522005
The moment a car is used to ram the fron entrance of Diamond Mowers. NNL-180819-124522005

“A Lexus car comes up and smashes through the shutters and main doors at the front of the shop.

“Then a van comes up and four masked men just empty the place of anything that’s easily portable - chainsaws, hedgecutters, trimmers etc.”

You can see the raid for yourself on the Diamond Mowers Facebook page, here: www.facebook.com/diamondmowersltd

If you recognise the men, or know anything about the early morning raid, contact the police on 101.

CCTV footage of the thieves stealing equipment. NNL-180819-124532005CCTV footage of the thieves stealing equipment. NNL-180819-124532005
CCTV footage of the thieves stealing equipment. NNL-180819-124532005

Colin said as well as the cost of replacing stock, the knocked-out doors, which cost the business £10,000, will also have to be replaced.

“It’s devastating really” he said. “It’s a big knockback to all your hard work - and the insurance never pays out what you need.”

The premises were burgled two years ago, and since then Colin has spent thousands upgrading the security.

“There’s not much you can do about a ram-raid though” he said. “The burglars are in and out so quickly - they just have to hope they’re lucky and there are no police about.”

Diamond Mowers has been in town for 25 years, 20 of them in Bath Street.

The business was expected to be open as normal on Monday.

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