Toy find prompts suspicion children taken to Sheffield pub theft

Chris Simpson said thieves smashed a window to get into The Brothers Arms in Heeley, at some point between 02:30 GMT and 04:30 GMT on Sunday

Thieves who ransacked a Sheffield pub before stealing a cast iron safe appear to have taken children with them on the burglary, a landlord has said.

The Brothers Arms in Heeley was broken into in the early hours of Sunday morning.

General Manager Chris Simpson said following the theft children's toys, which were not there the day before, were found in the pub's cellar

He said: "My dad used to take me to work with him, but this is ridiculous."

Mr Simpson said a 100-year-old safe had been stolen after being "levered loose and pushed downstairs"

Mr Simpson said the toys, which included a Transformer model and some Marvel Comics superhero figures, "definitely weren't there on Saturday night".

"It's really bizarre. It's almost like whoever did it had kids with them and told them to play in the cellar until they finished burgling us," he said.

Mr Simpson said discovering the 100-year-old safe was missing had been "a real head in the hands moment".

"They ransacked rooms and caused a lot of damage," he said.

"They must have levered the safe to get it to fall down the stairs: it was big, about a metre (3.3ft) tall, and it smashed up the landing as it fell".

Staff at the community pub said children's toys found in the cellar were "definitely not there the day before"

Mr Simpson said the thieves had also smashed a window and ripped out the alarm system during the theft and appeared to have "thrown a load of bags of rubbish into the car park".

The publican, who said the business had reopened on Monday following the break-in, told the BBC he believed the incident would affect the whole community.

"We're an independent community-minded pub, we put most of our profits back into the business to serve the community - this is the last thing we needed," he said.

Mr Simpson said the area was usually "quiet and calm" but lately "there's all this crime going on"

South Yorkshire Police confirmed an investigation was under way following the burglary.

"It is understood that persons unknown forced entry to the pub, causing damage, before taking a sum of money," a spokesperson for the force said.