Three people dressed in dark clothing have been caught on CCTV trying to break into an Ipswich cannabis lounge using a brick.
Jessie Carter, owner of Green Man Lounge which has recently rebranded as a vegan takeaway service, said the incident took place in the early hours of Sunday morning.
She was alerted to the attempted break-in at her premises in Eagle Street by a neighbour and when she checked the CCTV camera she saw the offenders return on a second occasion a few hours later.
The incidents were caught on CCTV and appear to show a brick being used to smash the window.
They didn’t manage to gain entry to the shop and nothing was taken, however the window has been shattered and some of the products damaged.
“It’s a nuisance,” said Jessie, who opened the cannabis lounge two years ago.
“It’s the last thing we need right now as footfall is down already because of the virus and now we have to fork out on the damage.
“Times are hard for people right now so I do understand, but it is infuriating.”
Jessie said she is “feeling the pressure” like a lot of independent businesses in the run-up to Christmas and this is just another setback.
She had to close her business down during the lockdown, but together with partner Daryl Noe, they decided to relaunch and offer a vegan and vegetarian food takeaway service.
MORE: Green Man Lounge in Ipswich reopening to offer vegan and gluten-free takeaway foodThe pair have had to massively adapt their business – which was Suffolk’s first cannabis lounge – to be able to survive in the current climate.
Originally the lounge had been a place for people to meet and socialise, and it sold a range of cannabis-derived products, including oils, pastes and powders containing CBD, a non-psychoactive constituent of cannabis.
Jessie said many of their customers were people with poor health who have needed to self-isolate during the pandemic.
This is not the first time the Green Man Lounge has been the victim of a break-in, as earlier this year the cash register was stolen after the door was kicked in.
A spokesman for Suffolk police said: “Police were called to a report of an attempted burglary at a premises on Sunday, Ocotober 18 at about 12.25am in Ipswich.
“The owner was alerted by her CCTV of three people all dressed in dark clothing throwing a brick at the front of her shop on Eagle Street, causing damage to the window at the front.
“Two hours later they return and start kicking the window before leaving again – at this point she called police.
“Any witnesses should call police on the normal channels quoting crime reference 37/60520/20.”
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