An eye-witness has described how a burglar with a bin liner over his shoulder like a Santa sack fled after a raid on a BP garage in Ipswich today.
The glass in the front door of BP Snax 24 in Spring Road was smashed and stock was taken from the shelves.
This morning cigarette packets could be seen strewn on the floor.
The raid took place around 1.10am.
A 29-year-old Spring Road resident who witnessed the burglary said: “I heard a loud bang and immediately thought someone’s crashed their car. Then I heard the (shop) alarm.
“It was really really loud.
“I looked out of our blinds and couldn’t see anything. I went upstairs and looked out and could see a commotion in the garage. I could see two people running around it. They were in the kiosk and looked like they were emptying out where the cigarettes are.
“There were sweeping along with their hands and they were running around like mad people.
“I just watched thinking ‘what the hell is going on?’.
“I saw one start to run out of the store down Spring Road towards the town centre.
“He was in black with a black hood and had a massive black bin liner over his shoulder like a Santa sack.
“Literally moments later the second one ran out and followed him.”
By this time the resident was on the phone to police telling them what was happening.
They said: “They probably ran for about five seconds and then I just heard a car with a loud exhaust. It pulled off at a real speed. The sound was gone in a few seconds.”
Today the glass door was boarded and a large piece of concrete lay nearby.
Bev Youngs, who is supervisor at the garage, first learnt about the break-in when she arrived for work this morning.
The 49-year-old said: “I have been here for 18 years and this has never happened before, so this is the first.
“It’s a bit concerning.
“This place closes at midnight and I think it happened around 12.20am, so not long after it shut.
“They must have been watching.”
Miss Youngs said a piece of paving had been “chucked” through the glass in the front door.
At this point it seems only cigarettes were stolen, she added.
Suffolk Constabulary said it was called at 1.15am and was at the scene in five minutes.
Anyone who can help the police inquiry should telephone 101 and quote crime reference 16890/17
Today’s burglary comes in the same week as seven others across the region.
On Wednesday night there was a ram-raid at Clarkes of Walsham, at Jimmy’s Farm in Wherstead, near Ipswich.
Thieves stole top branded jackets valued at between £20,000 and £25,000.
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