IT was shoplifting of a different kind when thieves in Ipswich made off with a six foot Victorian serving counter!The solid mahogany topped table, complete with brass rule at the back, had been left in a garden off Norwich Road for just a few hours while its owners had central heating installed in their under renovation town house.

By Tina Heath

IT was shoplifting of a different kind when thieves in Ipswich made off with a six foot Victorian serving counter!

The solid mahogany topped table, complete with brass rule at the back, had been left in a garden off Norwich Road for just a few hours while its owners had central heating installed in their under renovation town house.

Now furious homeowner Barry Burroughs is offering a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of the priceless antique.

"I will never get another one. It's just unbelievable," fumed self employed upholstery Mr Burroughs, 41.

"We were having central heating put in and we had to have a bit of a shift around so we laid it in the front garden with a big cover over it.

"I can't believe nobody saw anybody take it. It would have taken two people to lift it.

"If somebody is offered something like that I would ask them to get in touch with the police right away because I want it back.

Mr Burroughs, who works from rented space in Hubbard Antiques, St Margarets Green, Ipswich added: "It's not so much the money or what it's worth it's the cheek of somebody taking it from my front garden."

Mr Burroughs and his wife Karen, 58, were using the bygone timepiece, valued at nearly £1,000, as a work surface in their kitchen. The counter is about six feet long with a half round end and made of pine with a solid mahogany top.

It was stolen from the garden of their home, close to the junction with Wellington Street, sometime between 7.30pm and 10.30pm on January 29.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Pc Matthew Bettell on 01473 613500.