Ballyclare burglary: Heartless thieves steal charity boxes

The Times understands that the restaurant in The Square area of the town was targeted sometime between 9pm on Wednesday 29 June and 8.30am on Thursday 30 June. During the break-in, a sum of money was taken from a till float and charity boxes.

Commenting on Facebook, manager of the restaurant, Ian Howell said: “Our chef opened up this morning (Thursday) and found that someone had forced entry into our business through a small window. The people who have carried this out got away with a minimal amount of money. The sad thing about this is that it was from charity boxes that we have sitting beside our till that supports Guide Dogs for the Blind and Cancer Research.

“We are a small family owned business and unlike the larger restaurant chains we take this as if it was our own home that was burgled. All of the 16 local staff that we employ are devastated that someone in our community has carried out this terrible act.”

A PSNI spokesperson said: “Anyone with any information about this burglary is asked to contact Newtownabbey Police Station on the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference number 222 of 30/06/16. Or if someone would prefer to provide information without giving their details, they can contact the independent charity Crimestoppers and speak to them anonymously on 0800 555 111.”