Call for CCTV and security after £10k tobacco raid

A shop owner is calling for CCTV cameras and security patrols after burglars stole a £10,000 tobacco haul in a late-night smash and grab raid.

Anand Vadishela said they struck at the Nisa Local store in Alton High Street at 12.50am on August 25.

He added: “There were four guys wearing helmets, and one of them threw an iron plate in the main entrance door.

“Three people came inside to rob all the tobacco. They damaged the till and took all the cigarettes, tobacco, cigars and lighters, everything. There were 10 racks of cigarette boxes and they emptied all the racks. The whole lot came to £10,000.”

Anand, who has owned the shop for three and a half years, claimed that in the last six months the Co-op and other stores in the High Street had also been targeted.

He added: “There is no security in the High Street to open shops late. After 6pm we don’t know if people are customers or robbers.

“People watch where the cigarettes are and they know that after 6pm the street will be quiet and there are no cameras on the High Street to watch what is happening. It’s all planned.

“After 7pm we need some security patrols and CCTV so people won’t dare to rob the High Street. If there was a football match going on they would have security. The same thing is needed in the High Street.”

A spokesperson for the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said: “We were called at around 5.20am on Tuesday, August 25, to a report that a newsagent on the High Street in Alton had been broken into and that cigarettes had been stolen from the premises.

“An investigation has been launched and enquiries are ongoing to establish the full circumstances.”