VANDALS have today left a businessman wondering whether or not to give up on his shop after being open just a few weeks.Gary Paddick is considering pulling out of Felixstowe after thugs smashed his shop's plate glass window – wrecking more than £1,000-worth of goods.

VANDALS have today left a businessman wondering whether or not to give up on his shop after being open just a few weeks.

Gary Paddick is considering pulling out of Felixstowe after thugs smashed his shop's plate glass window - wrecking more than £1,000-worth of goods.

It is the latest in a long series of attacks on premises in the town centre and on the seafront, with almost one a week having to replace a window.

Mr Paddick opened Go Large in Hamilton Road a month ago. Its window was also broken two months earlier when it was a different clothes store under another ownership.

He said: "There is a shop window being broken in the town centre almost every week now - this is the third week running it has happened and there have been others since the New Year, too.

"I am seriously wondering whether it is worth carrying on.

"I thought I might break even this month, but now I am hundreds of pounds out of pocket and having to throw away loads of stock because I cannot sell it in case there are slivers of glass in it. It's a heavy loss."

Mr Paddick said he had to bin around 70 pairs of jeans, shirts and shoes.

The window had been broken with a coping stone from a nearby wall.

He said: "If I decide to stay I feel I have no option but to put steel mesh across my windows, which will not be very attractive for Felixstowe, or invest in night-vision CCTV cameras.

"I think the council needs to look again at CCTV for the whole town because all the traders are effected by this.

"It would be nice if they could have an open meeting and invite all the business owners, police and councillors to sit down together and air this issue and see if we can iron something out."

A police spokeswoman said the window had been damaged between 5.30pm Saturday and 11.30am Sunday .

On Sunday morning four youths were seen sitting in a car close to the shop and police would like them to come forward - or for anyone who saw them, or has any information about the damage, to ring Pc Peter Hawkins on 01473 613500.