A PENARTH opticians has been broken into, with around £6,000 worth of new stock stolen.

Penarth Eye Centre, in Windsor Road, was broken into at 3.20am on Wednesday, March 30.

Thieves smashed the front of the shop window, before making off with a large amount of new designer sunglasses, including brands such as Ray Ban.

Owner Rebecca Griffin, 49, said: "I was woken up at about 3.20am this morning by the alarm.

"My husband went to the shop expecting it to be a false alarm, but then he saw the window smashed and the stock taken."

Mrs Griffin reported the crime to South Wales Police at 4.30am, but due to a technical error officers did not turn up until 8am.

Mrs Griffin said that she had planned to reopen the shop as normal after she cleared everything up, but the delay meant that she had to wait until the afternoon.

A South Wales Police spokeswoman said: "South Wales Police is investigating a burglary at the Penarth Eye Centre on Windsor Road.

"Glasses worth thousands of pounds have been stolen during the burglary which happened at around 3.30am this morning (Wednesday, Thursday 30).

"Substantial damage has also  been caused to the property.

"Being a victim of burglary, whether it’s your home, your business, or where you work is a traumatic experience and we are carrying out enquiries to identify and arrest those responsible."

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Mrs Griffin has owned the opticians since 2000 and the anniversary of first taking over the shop is this Friday.

Unfortunately this is not the anniversary that she was hoping for.

She said that she only had one incident of theft around 20 years ago and is shocked at the recent crime.

South Wales Police are asking anybody who may have witnessed the crime to contact them by calling 101, messaging them on Twitter or Facebook, or emailing them at SWP101@south-wales.police.uk.

Anyone with information can also report it on the South Wales Police website here or by calling Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

All communications regarding this incident should include the reference number *104139.