Empty shops warning as raiders strike

Burglars are breaking into vacant London buildings so they can bore through the walls to rob the shops next door.

Police warned businesses to be vigilant after four shops were attacked using the technique in a fortnight.

The latest burglary cost an Islington wine shop £7,000 of stock, including cigarettes, champagne and whisky, in two strikes in one night.

At least three men squeezed through a 16-inch hole to get into the off licence stockroom after breaking into a vacant video store next door.

After making off with alcohol and the safe from The Wine Inn in Essex Road at about 12.30am, the gang returned three hours later to remove the till which contained £300.

Manager Qasim Jaffar, 23, who had closed the shop 30 minutes before the raiders struck, said: "They went straight for the most expensive stuff. They knew exactly what they wanted." Estate agent Laurence Brown, who is renting out the video shop, said: "You expect this sort of thing to happen with a bank, not an off licence."

Last month a kebab shop in Holloway Road was hit twice when burglars kicked through a wall to steal cash. Then thousands of pounds were stolen from an Upper Street takeaway when burglars squeezed through a tiny hole in the wall to remove the safe.

Anyone with information should contact Dc Catriona Ward on 020 7421 0220 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.