The shameless moment two thugs on bikes broke into a vintage store and stole more than £6,000 of designer clothes has been caught on camera.
Footage captured on Thursday showed the thieves, one masked and one brazenly unmasked, arriving at Bread and Butter Collections in Shoreditch at 4.30am and bashing the door open.
Once inside, the men emptied designer clothes rails and display cabinets before leaving the shop to grab extra plastic bags before coming back for more.
The crooks returned 20 minutes later with green plastic bin liners – having dropped off the first haul – and continued to fill them with clothes and accessories worth an eye-watering £6,200.
Across two trips to the store, the burglars managed to steal five designer handbags, five hand-made rings, two retro football shirts, 10 caps and 15 vintage leather jackets.
During the early morning raid on May 28, CCTV audio captured one thug who said: ‘Come on shut the door let’s go and get some more bags.’
The unmasked burglar pleaded with his accomplice to leave quickly, only to be told to ‘shut up.’
Ben Whittle, owner of Bread and Butter Collections, said the theft left him ‘gutted and violated.’
Two thieves, one masked and one brazenly unmasked, arrived at Bread and Butter Collections in Shoreditch at 4.30am on May 28 and broke into the store
The shameless moment was caught on the store’s CCTV as the thugs stole an eye-watering £6,200 in designer clothes
The thieves decided to leave the store and return with even more bags to continue stealing from the store
‘They came in at about 4.30am and just bashed through the door so eventually it just popped,’ he said.
‘They took a whole rail of our jackets which was our main seller but the biggest thing was our designer handbags, they broke into our display cabinet and took them. It was not a small amount of money.’
The thief dressed in all black and a balaclava broke into the glass display cabinet full of designer bags, while his accomplice stole leather biker jackets.
After filling the green bags and putting the jackets on the handlebars of their bikes, the thieves shut the shop door and left.
Mr Whittle was told that his store had been burgled by his cleaner who arrived later in the morning and called him.
Watching back the CCTV footage of the theft, the 33-year-old said he was in ‘disbelief trying to figure out what happened.’
The morning raid came at a painful time for the vintage store owner as Bread and Butter Collections will release its own football kit on June 13 and open a brand new store four days later.
Ahead of the opening of Bread and Butter Collections Arch in two weeks time, Mr Whittle said, ‘we need every penny we can get.
‘Running a small business is not easy financially with all the other pressures involved – it’s tough.’
One thief, dressed in all black and a balaclava, broke into the stores glass display cabinet and stole five designer bags
The thieves emptied an entire clothes rail during the early morning raid on the vintage clothes store
One very small silver lining was the fact the crooks left the Arsenal shirts behind, some of which were sold over the weekend the team held their Premier League winners bus parade.
Since the thugs barged the door wide-open during the break-in, Mr Whittle has since reinforced the doors with additional locks.
‘They must have shouldered it pretty hard. We have a lot more locks on it now, that’s for sure,’ he said.
Despite being burgled at a crucial time for the business, support for Bread and Butter Collections has never been stronger.
‘We’ve got a good community – the theft has amplified that. I feel a bit violated but we’re doing alright.’
Bread and Butter Collections was set up during the Covid-19 pandemic and has now developed into a vintage lifestyle and events brand based in North London.
The business operates out of a three-storey building in Shoreditch. The vintage store is on the ground floor, an event space is on the first floor and a music studio is on the top floor.
A Met spokesperson said: ‘We are aware of a video circulating online which appears to show a burglary at a store on Rivington Street, Shoreditch on Thursday, 28 May.
‘The footage shows two suspects breaking into the premises and stealing several designer bags and leather jackets.
‘Officers are reviewing CCTV and enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made at this stage.
‘Anyone with information is asked to contact police on 101, quoting CAD 1489/28MAY, or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.’
