Beefed-up security thwarts burglars

VICTORY: Greytown FreshChoice supermarket.PHOTO/FILE

A Greytown business owner is claiming a victory after burglars failed to gain entry to his store during an attempted early-morning break-in.

Two people tried to smash their way into Greytown Fresh Choice yesterday using a hammer but fled empty-handed after failing to break through the reinforced glass doors at the entrance.

Owner Chris Ward said that, after thieves broke in and stole hundreds of dollars' worth of cigarettes last month, aluminium panels had been fitted in the lower section of the building to make it difficult to gain access through the windows, driving potential burglars towards the main doors.

"When we looked at it we thought: we can stop this from happening again.

"I'm actually quite pleased because they didn't get in. I'm viewing it as a complete victory."

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Mr Ward had yet to view the CCTV footage but had been told it showed two people hitting the glass doors with a hammer three times, before "legging it" when the alarm was activated.

Even if they had made it through the first set of doors, the burglars would still have had to smash through another set of reinforced doors before making it inside the store, where no cash or cigarettes were now kept, Mr Ward said.

"We've just made it hard, it's not an easy target."

Once inside the store, motion detectors would also trigger a call to police, Mr Ward said.

"Broken glass plus movement equals police," he said.

He was unsure if the two recent break-ins were connected but could not rule it out, especially as both crimes happened at a similar time of the morning.

Senior Sergeant Mike Sutton confirmed police were investigating and would be increasing overnight patrols in the area.