AN army veteran has spoken of his anger after £1,400 of vintage coins were stolen from his shop in Bolton town centre.

Stan Mather served in the Royal Engineers and now cares for his wife, who suffers from Alzheimer’s, at their home in Harwood.

The 73-year-old opened Pennywise in St Andrew’s Court 18 months ago to showcase his expansive coin collection – collected over 62 years.

The thieves responsible for raiding his shop on March 25, and stealing 50 coin sets, were jailed for six months at Bolton Magistrates’ Court yesterday.

Mr Mather said he was “pleased” at the outcome but spoke of his dismay that he had been victim to such a crime, after opening the shop as a “museum for the public”.

Paul Kenyon, aged 38, of Torrisdale Close, Deane and David Bretherton, aged 36, of no fixed abode, were both told to pay compensation of £500, as well as being jailed.

Both changed their pleas to guilty on the day they were due to stand trial.

He said: “I am quite happy with the result as there is no need to go around stealing from people like that.

“It is a hobby for me really and a museum for the people.

“I was depressed after the break-in as it is a bit of a shame to get burgled for trying to do something good for the town.

“And I was angered more than anything else that I couldn’t open a shop without it getting smashed.”

Mr Mather said he saw a group congregating in St Andrew’s Court on the day of the burglary.

The men struck at about 6pm, after most businesses had closed, and smashed a window at the front of the shop, before reaching in and grabbing everything they could from a display.

CCTV caught men armed with a brick repeatedly smashing the window until it shattered.

The coins they stole were a mixture of Royal Mint collections between 1967 and 2008, as well as sets from overseas.

Mr Mather travelled the world in the Royal Engineers, visiting Borneo, Malaya and Germany among other places, before moving to Bolton in the 1960s.

Pennywise opens four days a week, with Mr Mather saying it allows him to get out of the house for a few hours.

He sometimes brings his wife in with him and added: “She never remembers and says ‘I’ve not been here before’.

“But she does get some enjoyment from it.”