A BUSINESS owner, whose shop has been targeted by criminals three times in as many weeks, believes it's only a matter of time before wrongdoers strike a fourth time.

A BUSINESS owner, whose shop has been targeted by criminals three times in as many weeks, believes it's only a matter of time before wrongdoers strike a fourth time.

Carole Emery has reported two thefts and a smashed window at her clothes shop in Fore Street, Ipswich, in less than a month.

Since moving premises from Upper Orwell Street, Ms Emery says her shop, Dress Circle, has been a magnet for shoplifters and thieves.

She said: “In the last three weeks I've had a Gucci handbag worth �200 stolen from the window, the petty cash float taken, and a window smashed in the middle of the night.

“I'm trying to make a living but I have to keep buying lock-up display cabinets and security handbag stands to try and stop more items being stolen.

“If anything under �250 goes missing I have to pay for it, not my insurance company. I think if there was CCTV in the street I wouldn't be having these problems.”

Ms Emery's shop is situated in an area of Ipswich that has undergone substantial rejuvenation in recent years but she believes appearances are worth nothing where retailers are concerned: “I have a very good group of customers and this could be a nice little shopping area,” she commented. “But people don't want to come in and every time see police officers taking statements.

“I don't want to have to take the expensive items out of the shop window just because they might get stolen.”

Has your business lost income as a result of crime? Write to Your Letters, Evening Star, 30 Lower Brook Street, Ipswich, IP4 1AN, or e-mail eveningstarletters@eveningstar.co.uk