4:26pm Monday 30th November 2009
By Catherine Priestley
A BUTCHER'S shop has lost time and money during its busiest season after thieves raided the stockroom.
Meat worth almost £1,800 was stolen from Bert the Butcher, in Shildon, County Durham, last week.
Sometime between 5.30pm on Tuesday November 24 and 7am on Wednesday November 25 the shop in Redworth Road was broken into and the freezers raided.
Among the haul of produce taken were legs and shoulders of lamb, hams, sausages, skirts of beef, pork trimmings, sliced ham, ox livers and 240kg of Chinese sliced beef.
Proprietor Bert Withers and his daughter, Heather Withers-Colin, now face working longer hours in the already frantic festive period.
Mrs Withers-Colin said: "I'd spent a lot of time building up our stock for the Christmas period which is already busy.
"The sliced beef alone, which I cut part frozen for stir-fries, will take hours to do, I'll have to come back and work late on nights to replace it.
"A theft like this not only has a financial impact but it also has an emotional price."
Police are appealing for information about the incident.
Anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area around the time of the burglary or who has been offered meat for sale is asked to contact PC Paul Elliott on 0345-60-60-365 or Crimestoppers on 0800-555-111.
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