Cafe owners' upset after two break-ins in a week

Nazmin Akhtar and her husband Imran run the Early Bird Cafe in Wellington Railway Station, which was broken into twice in one week

A cafe owner has said her family is distraught after the premises were broken into twice in one week.

Nazmin Akhtar runs the Early Bird Cafe in Wellington Railway Station, which was targeted on Tuesday and again on Thursday, causing more than £1,000 in damage.

As well as smashed windows, stock was stolen along with a drill, plus loose change and the staff's tips box.

Mrs Akhtar said: "The business is like our second home, we spend so much time here and we spend so much effort trying to build it up from scratch. It feels as if someone's attacked my home. It's just too personal."

While the family tried to "get on with it" after the first incident, Mrs Akhtar said the second break-in was "a really big blow".

"Because it just feels personal now, like someone's got it in for us and keeps coming back," she said.

The cafe owner added that her children were very upset by the break-ins and that the family were scared the intruder would return.

"They think that they're going to attack my home as well," she said.

"So my daughter didn't sleep all night because she was really really upset."

More than £1,000 in damage has been caused by the two break-ins

As a result of the damage, the cafe has had to close for two days to get the windows boarded up, turning customers away.

While the business had insurance, their premium would cost more than paying for the repairs, and paying out of the profits would hit their ability to cover stock, wages and mortgage payments.

"I know it's not a large sum of money - but it's money that will help us to pay our rent, pay our mortgages, food costs, and it's just impacted us a lot," Mrs Akhtar said.

"We can't take orders from customers so our regular customers have been turned away. We can't afford to keep closing the business."

With the family struggling, they received a lifeline in the form of support from a local firm, CS Solicitors, which provided them with new windows.

Nazmin Akhtar says the cafe feels like a second home to her

Mrs Akhtar said: "People like CS Solicitors, when they step forward and say to us 'look, you're part of this community and we're willing to help you', it means a lot to us.

"Without their support we wouldn't have been able to repair the windows as quickly as we hoped."

Mohammed Khan from CS Solicitors said he wanted to rebuild community trust in the wake of the incidents

Mohammed Khan from CS Solicitors told the BBC: "These thefts are not simple, petty thefts. These shake livelihoods, they take away the trust we've built within our community and that's something we want to restore as quickly as possible.

"People need to be aware and come forward if they know something."

British Transport Police said it received a report at 07:40 BST on 14 August of a burglary at the cafe.

"Officers attended and inquiries into the incident are ongoing," a spokesperson said.

"An investigation has also been launched into an incident of criminal damage at the same location on Tuesday August 12.

"Anyone with information is asked to contact BTP by texting 61016 or by calling 0800 40 50 40, quoting reference 109 of 14/08/25."

The cafe is now welcoming customers back in while they make some repairs