'Morally disgusting' thieves smash into Farlington furniture shop Material Things to steal two sofas

Crooks used a circular saw to slice through the locks of Farlington’s Material Things store on Sunday before snatching two luxury sofas worth £5,000.

The smash-and-grab happened at about 7.15pm, with the thieves scurrying from the scene in a white transit van a few minutes later.

But they wrecked the inside of the furniture store, which has been a staple in Fitzherbert Road for more than 30 years, causing hundreds of pounds worth of damage.

Kerry Hammond, showroom manager, said staff and customers had been left shocked by the raid. She added: ‘It’s shocking and disgusting. You just wouldn’t imagine seeing something like this happening.

‘We couldn’t quite believe it. The showroom has been here for over 30 years and nothing like that has happened before.

‘We’re all working hard to try and make a living so for someone to come and take it without working for it is not right; morally, it’s just disgusting.’

The two sofas on display, pictured, were custom-built luxury pieces worth a combined value of about £5,000.

CCTV footage was recorded of the crime, although Kerry fears the film is not clear enough to identify any of the suspects.

Police are investigating the incident and believe it to have been a theft-to-order, carried out by an organised crime group.

Describing the break-in, Kerry added: ‘They had used a saw to cut through the deadlock of the entrance door and reversed a white van into the car park.

‘They went straight for our two big sofas. They then entered the building and knew exactly what they wanted. They were in and out in 10 minutes.’

The theft came in the run-up to one of the store’s busiest periods of trading – the Boxing Day and New Year’s Day sales.

Kerry added: ‘To do this to a family business makes it so much worse. This is not a victimless crime. We’re going to be in the January sales soon and one of our most popular suites, the hand made one, is no longer on display.

‘We can’t get that onto the display and knock one up in a couple of weeks. They take a lot of time to build.’

SEE ALSO: HMS Queen Elizabeth mission a ‘massive success’ despite destroyer woes

Hampshire Constabulary is hunting for the thieves and is appealing for help from the public.

A spokeswoman for the force added: ‘Officers would like to speak to anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the incident, or anyone who has any information about who may be responsible.’

Those with information should call police on 101 quoting 44210488178.

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

You can subscribe here for unlimited access to our online coverage, including Pompey, with 70 per cent fewer adverts for less than 20p a day.