MORE than £500 worth of stock has been stolen from a butty shop.

Owners of Bullough’s Sandwich Bar were left disheartened after discovering their business in Accrington had been ransacked on Wednesday.

Empty boxes were scattered across the floor and a window was found open and damaged.

Alannah Gibson, who runs the Scaitcliffe Street business with her mother, Jackie Jackson, said: “We were both shook up when we saw the stock had all gone.

“Dozens of cases of soft drink cans, chocolate bars, and confectionary crates have been taken.

“We had to section off the areas which had been touched for the police so they could carry out their investigations.

“There’s at least £500 worth of stock that has been stolen.”

The business had been targeted by thieves in August, which also resulted in stock being taken.

Ms Gibson, from Accrington, said: “We’ve had to open and carry on as usual because we can’t afford to close. We have staff to pay and customers to feed so we have to keep going.

“It’s made everyone feel a bit unnerved, we don’t feel safe in the place at the moment. The window has been damaged so we need to work out the cost of repairing that.

“People have no morals. This might have had a significant impact on the future of the business.”

One of the sandwich bar’s customers, Alex Tomlinson, said he was sad to hear the business had been targeted.

He said: “People just don’t think about the consequences their actions may have. Imagine if they had to close, there would have been job losses to hard-working people. It angers me that nice people can be targeted.

“It’s cans of pop and chocolate, why target them?”

Police were due to speak to Ms Gibson yesterday.