A CYCLE repair shop owner has been left devastated after a customer’s expensive bike was stolen.

Iain Smith at the Padiham Cycle Repairs shop on Burnley Road was getting ready for work when his wife noticed a Facebook post with the broken shop window.

The break-in had happened at 3.30am on Tuesday, June 30, and the video appears to show a man break the window with a paving slab, before returning with another man to steal an orange bike, the internet router and the till.

Mr Smith said: “I thought, here we go again, and they must have spent a good half an hour trying to break in because the glass is shatter proof.

“When I got there, a local binman was standing there to make sure nobody else went in to steal anything else.”

Other Padiham businesses have been supportive since they found out.

Mr Smith said: “Oddies Bakery got me a free dinner and a lady who saw it on Facebook bought me chocolates.

“Everyone has been very nice and supportive about it, it’s just these low lives who ruin things for people.”

Mr Smith called the police and a local builder came to board up the window to make it safe.

Then he had the task of ringing the customer to let them know what had happened.

He said: “He was so heart-broken, it was a £5,000 bike and he had spent around £1500 on top modifying it to suit him.”

It was also shared on Facebook, which Mr Smith hopes will also help bring the criminals to justice.

After the incident, Mr Smith is putting up more cameras, grills on the windows outside as this is the second time they have been targeted.

The last time was two years ago when the shop was new, and five bikes were stolen.

Mr Smith said: “I had only just started then and did not have much money.

“They could have finished us then, they are just not bothered about the damage they cause to people’s businesses.”

This is the latest in a number of break-ins already reported in the last month in Padiham. Two other shops, including Oddies was also targeted last month.

Since the lockdown began, the shop has been busy with more people bringing out their old bikes for repair to get back on the roads.

The footage from the shop has been handed to police, who are now investigating the matter.