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A PONTYPOOL charity shop is counting the cost of damage caused by thieves who made off with just three toiletry gift sets.

Shocked staff arriving for work at the Red Cross Furniture Shop on Monday morning were met with a scene of devastation as the window had been cracked and pushed through and damaged caused to the ceiling and their electricity supply.

The incident occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning and it is not known how the offenders broke the window, though staff suspect they used a vehicle to gain entry.

Yet all that was taken was the empty till and three toiletry gift sets, though thousands of pounds worth of damage was left in the wake.

Manager Deb Probert said she and the volunteers were shocked and saddened by the incident.

"I am still in shock," she said. "They got about £10 worth of gift sets but the cost of the damage far outweighs it."

The furniture shop, in Commercial Street, opened a year ago and operates in addition to its charity shop in Crane Street.

Miss Probert added: "We have been building this side of the business up and it's been going really well and for this to happen now its stopped us in our tracks."

The store is expected to be closed for a week as repairs are carried out but Miss Probert said they have to turn customers away in the meantime.

The Red Cross Shop was not the only business to have been broken into, Pontypool Police believe it maybe connected to a break in at Second's Best, in Osborne Road, around the same time. Owner Clare Davies explained a window had been removed and left neatly' on the pavement.

"They took one fishing rod, worth £10, and two jars of pot pourri, which were here for decoration," she said.

PC Andrew Cleaton, crime and disorder reduction officer for Pontypool, said one man has been arrested and is helping police with their inquiries. A member of the public also reported seeing items, believed to have been taken in the incident, dumped near the river.

9:08am Wednesday 21st May 2008

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