An independent high-end fashion store has fallen victim to crime-riddled London after £6,000 worth of quality suits were stolen just 10 days after they were launched.
Batch LDN, which is based in Spitalfields, east London, was attacked in the early hours of this morning by two thieves who smashed one of their windows.
Footage shows two balaclava-clad men arriving on bikes and scouting out the store in Spitalfields Market in the early hours of this morning.
One moment even shows a police car driving past, but the brazen thieves were not spooked.
They then hammered their way in with bricks before grabbing the suits in the display window, ripping some off of mannequins.
The entire attack lasted just six minutes, starting at 3.53am and ending by 4am.
Co-founder Sam Matanley told Metro: ‘I got a call at 5am saying one of our windows had been smashed.
‘I arrived and found they had stolen our new collection, and we only launched it 10 days ago.’
The business has been at their new location for a month, but are now ready to move again.
Sam said: ‘We now have a lot of anxiety being in the area, and it is not a comfortable experience working here.
‘We are still operating as business as usual, but this has confirmed to us we need to move to a brand new location.’
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The store was robbed at their previous location around the corner when a man ran in, grabbed a jacket, and ran out again.
The Metropolitan Police has been contacted for comment.
It comes as shoplifting offences recorded by police in England and Wales has risen to a new 20-year high.
A total of 469,788 offences were logged by forces in the year to June 2024, up 29% on the 365,173 recorded in the previous 12 months.
The figure is the highest since current records began in the year to March 2003, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
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