Spectacular failure of bungling Burnley bank raiders (From Burnley and Pendle Citizen)

Spectacular failure of bungling Burnley bank raiders

11:15am Wednesday 20th February 2013 in News By Tyrone Marshall, Reporter

RAIDERS smashed through a wall using sledgehammers to break into a bank from an opticians next door.

The audacious burglars broke into Eye Site Opticians, in Briercliffe Road, Burnley, through the back door at around 5am on Sunday morning.

Once inside they tore down wall displays and then knocked part of a brick wall down to get inside the adjoining Santander bank, causing around £2,000 damage.

They searched the public area of the bank but ended up fleeing the premises without taking anything from the bank or the opticians.

Santander opened late on Monday morning but is now open again as normal, while Eye Site was closed Monday and yesterday but is due to re-open today.

Christine Berry, practice manager at Eye Site, said: “This has caused a massive amount of damage. We have had to remain closed on Monday and Tuesday as we couldn’t have the public coming in with all the damage.

“We are an independent practice so it has caused us a lot of problems, we’re not sure how much it is going to cost at the moment and we are in the process of going through with the insurance.

“They haven’t taken anything but it has caused a lot of structural damage to the building which needed repairing straight away.”

A spokeswoman for Santander said that the branch had opened late on Monday but was now open as normal, and that the bank was helping the police with their investigations.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555 111.