'I've stopped calling police over break-ins'

The owner of Vivaanta Bar & Restaurant in Warwick, Ashraf Ali, said they have been targeted by burglars several times

The owner of an Indian restaurant has criticised what he sees as a lack of response from police following a string of burglaries.

Ashraf Ali, who runs Vivaanta Bar and Restaurant on West Street, Warwick, said the business was broken into three times in 10 months but he did not report the latest break-in on 4 October.

He says he was left disappointed after police failed to respond to the first burglary on 21 December, claiming he was told someone from the force would come to take a statement, but they did not.

Warwickshire Police said they have urged Mr Ali to get in touch with them to report the latest break-in and tackle concerns related to the one in 2024.

A spokesperson did add that, in their records, they found the business made two calls to them in late 2024 but they were not in connection with a burglary.

Mr Ali told BBC CWR that the restaurant was broken into a second time around new year, adding he called police again, waited 40 minutes but could not get through and hung up.

He said it put him off reporting the latest burglary to police in which float money, charity collection tins and a bottle of whiskey were stolen - and the theft was captured on the restaurant's internal CCTV system.

Mr Ali said the amount taken by the thief might not seem a lot but feared, if it continued, it could lead to the business closing for good.

The thief gained access to the restaurant, causing damage to a window and door, Mr Ali said

He said the thief gained access to the restaurant by unscrewing all the bolts on a kitchen window before causing damage to a door leading from the kitchen to the restaurant.

"The main damage is the door. We've had a quote on that, it's about £700 for door. The window, that's going to be another cost, so it is a cost to the business, of course it is," Mr Ali said.

"I think any day we close, it impacts the business. We lose out on the trade for that day and anyone that wants to come in.

"It gives [customers] the opportunity to go somewhere else. It could affect the business long-term. It could eventually lead to closure, who knows?"

Mr Ali and his partners opened Vivaanta in 2019 and said business had been steady over the years.

He said a large amount of cash was stolen in the break-in in 2024 but the police response left him feeling disappointed.

"The first time around, [the burglar] took a lot. There was a massive charity pot as well, that we keep for end of the year, and [they] took that," he added.

"I don't know if they are underfunded or what but [the ] police don't really give it much attention. I don't know what they can do, probably more patrols, I don't know, I really don't know."

Mr Ali thought more police patrols could be a deterrent to burglars targeting businesses like his

"First time around, we rang the police, no response," Mr Ali said.

"This incident, one of our customers found the till and there was a voucher in there which had our name on, so he rang me.

"He [also] rang the police, he was on the phone for about a good 40 minutes...and again, no response."

A Warwickshire Police spokesperson said: "We would urge the owner of Vivaanta to get in touch with us at the earliest convenience as this latest burglary has not been reported to us.

"We would also like to thoroughly discuss their concerns around a report they made in December last year."

Burglaries of businesses were down by more than 14% since 2024, they added.

"I recognise the significant impact [burglaries] can have on victims and communities and that is why we will continue to do all we can to prevent and detect such criminality across the county," Chief Constable Alex Franklin-Smith said.