Blackpool lingerie shop set to close after thieves return three times in three weeks

Thieves stole whole racks of items from the Lingerie Lounge on Church Street after smashing through windows on Monday just days after a previous raid left the shop partly boarded up.

In a previous break-in, on Sunday, February 16, CCTV showed that after the thieves fled with bin-bags full of clothing leaving the window broken, passers-by then also got into the shop and helped themselves to bras and knickers.

Owner Chrissy Thomas Griffin had repeatedly asked the council to be allowed to put shutters on the award-winning shop but had been turned down and, thanks to being targeted five times in two years, was no longer able to get the place insured.

She said the raids had cost the business more than £20,000 and now they were on the point of shutting up shop for good as they cannot afford to carry on.

She said: "It is devastating, just when this part of town was starting to look good. We had our shop in Queen Street for three years without any trouble. We have been in Church Street for two years now.

"Most of our DKNY and Ralph Lauren pyjamas and lounge wear were stolen. We had only just been down to London and Birmingham to get replacement stock form the last break-in.

"It is a beautiful building and we love our shop. We spent more than £60,000 refurbishing it and even won a civic trust award for how nice it looked.

"Before we moved in, we asked the council to let us install shutters but we were turned down. We asked again after the first burglary. Three weeks ago after the break-in we had a meeting with the council again but have not heard anything since. We have CCTV and alarms but in the time it took for someone to get down there when the alarm went off, they had gone.

"It is so frustrating and I felt so sorry for the staff having to sit in the cold shop with it boarded up. Now we are staying closed indefinitely, they don't know what is going to happen about their jobs. The insurance company won't give us insurance anymore.

"We were told we could not have the shutters because they did not like the look it presented on the street. Other shops in Church Street have shutters, but they have had them for more than five years so the rules do not apply to them.

"I don't think that a shop with boarded up windows is a better look."

Chrissy said the shop was unique in the area, with its complete fitting service, and provides maternity wear. It also offers underwear for women who have had mastectomies and gets referrals from Blackpool Victoria Hospital.

She said the shop had remained boarded up since the previous raid as the council would not let her replace the window as it needed specialist glass. She said the cost of replacing the broken door alone was £1,200.

"We have worked so hard to make it nice and the staff are all brilliant. We have such a lovely relationship with people in the area with regulars coming in to say hello as they past."

Lancashire Police confirmed the latest break-in has been reported but said so far no-one had been charged.

A Blackpool Council spokesman said: “Prior to the unfortunate incident over the weekend, we had been working with the business to try to find a workable solution.

“We are keen to continue to do so as this is an attractive retail outlet and a valuable asset that we would not want to lose within the town centre.”