A devastated shop owner has told of the stress he now faces after being left thousands of pounds out of pocket following a raid on his business.
Mathew Culver says the break-in at Prism Technology in Deal in the early hours of yesterday is a “kick in the teeth” for him and his staff.
The 32-year-old was alerted by neighbours that his store, which repairs and sells computers, phones and laptops, had been burgled.
He rushed to the scene at 7.45am – almost five hours after the culprit had fled.
Mr Culver says CCTV footage shows the raider trying to break into the building at several entry points, including doors and windows.
They eventually climbed through a large hole made in a window by throwing an object at it. The raid started at 2.20am, with the suspect leaving by 3.15am.
“The shop has eight 4K CCTV cameras which recorded the entire incident,” Mr Culver said.
“The suspect made off down Mill Hill multiple times during the incident before returning on four different occasions.
“Laptops and mobile phones owned by Prism Technology, cash from the till and our tip box have been stolen.
“No customer devices were handled or taken during the burglary.”
Mr Culver estimates between £10,000 and £15,000 worth of products and cash was stolen, on top of significant damage costs.
“My wife and I are mortified,” he said.
“Knowing that someone is that determined to gain entry and is happy to just ruin a small local business – I just don’t understand.
“I like to think that my reputation in the local area is quite respectful, especially as I regularly support local community projects and helped out during the Ukraine crisis donating laptops and other technology. I just wouldn’t think something like this would happen, I try to be a people pleaser.
“I work up to 18 hours a day to build my business reputation after being 13 years in business and it’s just a massive kick in the teeth. I regularly work into the night at the store and it scares me that I would now be putting myself at risk by doing so.
“My staff are also anxious because of the event.”
Mr Culver says the week before the break-in had been very good for business at the Beauchamp Avenue shop, but now everything has been destroyed.
“It really is tiring and stressful,” he said.
“We’ve had such a good week, been so busy and this has just completely destroyed everything for us. It also means I have limited stock to sell now as our higher-end phones have all been taken alongside the boarded window.
“I’m worried about the long-term impact on the business – it doesn’t look great.
“Insurance will cover most of it, I hope, but of course I have excesses to pay for glass etc, increased premium, loss of trade during repair work and by not having stock and the effects on my mental health too.
“I’ll be all right, but it’ll always be lingering in the back of my mind so now I’ve got to spend more time sorting out repairs to the premises, phone calls, etc which is more stress and very tiring when we have a three-month-old baby.”
The shop remains open but Mr Culver says it may have to temporarily close for repairs to take place.
“Stock is limited as all of our decent refurbished phones were taken,” he said.
“When repairs take place the store will be closed at certain points.
“The flooring needs replacing due to impact damage from the cabinets coming down and again for furniture to be erected and fixed in place. The window also needs replacing.”
Kent Police has been contacted for comment.
Robert Johnson is a UK-based business writer specializing in finance and entrepreneurship. With an eye for market trends and a keen interest in the corporate world, he offers readers valuable insights into business developments.
