Latest news with #PaulPimlott
Yahoo
02-04-2025
- Yahoo
Watch: Masked ram-raiders crash into shop and steal £20k of Jellycats
Credit: JamPress Masked men crashed into a shop selling Jellycats before stealing £20,000 of the soft toys, CCTV shows. The Gorge Bear Company shop in Cheddar, Somerset, was targeted by thieves at 4.40am on Sunday. CCTV footage showed a Renault Twingo break down the door before a masked man emptied the shelves into a large bag. Some 300 Jellycat and Charlie Bear soft toys were taken, according to Paul Pimlott, the company secretary. Highly collectable Jellycat soft toys sell from between £12 to £200 each. Mr Pimlott said the shop had never suffered a raid like it in its 25 years in business. He added: 'We had over 300 soft toys stolen in the raid. We've been here since 1999 and nothing like this has happened before. But we've had lots of support from the community. 'And we will continue. We also own World of Bears in Taunton and have staff to look after. So as a local business we want to carry on contributing locally.' He urged people to look out for items at car boot sales, on Vinted and on eBay. The shop, which has been closed since the incident, is due to reopen on Thursday. An Avon and Somerset police spokesman said: 'An investigation is under way into a burglary at a shop in Cheddar which happened in the early hours of Sunday March 30. 'We were called at 4.42am to a report that a car had been used to force access to the property in Queens Row with a significant quantity of soft toys having been stolen. 'Officers were deployed within minutes of the call being made and a search of the area was carried out to try and locate the vehicle involved – a silver Renault Twingo.' It is not the first time thieves have targeted Jellycats. A shopkeeper previously criticised police for failing to arrest a thief who stole the toys from his garden centre in Bridport, Dorset, last October. A £400 haul of Jellycats was taken. Broaden your horizons with award-winning British journalism. Try The Telegraph free for 1 month with unlimited access to our award-winning website, exclusive app, money-saving offers and more.
Telegraph
02-04-2025
- Telegraph
Watch: Masked ram-raiders crash into shop and steal £20k of Jellycats
Masked men crashed into a shop selling Jellycats before stealing £20,000 of the soft toys, CCTV shows. The Gorge Bear Company shop in Cheddar, Somerset, was targeted by thieves at 4.40am on Sunday. CCTV footage showed a Renault Twingo break down the door before a masked man emptied the shelves into a large bag. Some 300 Jellycat and Charlie Bear soft toys were taken, according to Paul Pimlott, the company secretary. Highly collectable Jellycat soft toys sell from between £12 to £200 each. Mr Pimlott said the shop had never suffered a raid like it in its 25 years in business. 'We will continue' He added: 'We had over 300 soft toys stolen in the raid. We've been here since 1999 and nothing like this has happened before. But we've had lots of support from the community. 'And we will continue. We also own World of Bears in Taunton and have staff to look after. So as a local business we want to carry on contributing locally.' He urged people to look out for items at car boot sales, on Vinted and on eBay. The shop, which has been closed since the incident, is due to reopen on Thursday. An Avon and Somerset police spokesman said: 'An investigation is under way into a burglary at a shop in Cheddar which happened in the early hours of Sunday March 30. 'We were called at 4.42am to a report that a car had been used to force access to the property in Queens Row with a significant quantity of soft toys having been stolen. 'Officers were deployed within minutes of the call being made and a search of the area was carried out to try and locate the vehicle involved – a silver Renault Twingo.' It is not the first time thieves have targeted Jellycats. A shopkeeper previously criticised police for failing to arrest a thief who stole the toys from his garden centre in Bridport, Dorset, last October. A £400 haul of Jellycats was taken.
BBC News
02-04-2025
- BBC News
Jellycats worth £20k stolen from Cheddar bear shop by ram raiders
An independent toy shop has had about £20,000 worth of Jellycat and Charlie Bears soft toys stolen in a ram raid. The owners of The Gorge Bear Company in Cheddar, Somerset, said the shop was ram-raided at about 04:40 BST on Sunday. Paul Pimlott, company secretary, told the BBC they rammed into the shop "eight times" using a wooden post as "a battering ram".Avon and Somerset Police said an investigation has been launched, and added officers searched the area to try to locate the silver Renault Twingo involved. CCTV cameras captured a man and woman looking into the windows about 20 minutes before the incident. A car was then used to gain entry to the shop. In a social media post, the store said a "large quantity" of goods were stolen and urged people to look out for items at car boot sales, on Vinted and on eBay. Mr Pimlott told the BBC: "Seeing it, there's an element of shock of why would people do that?""There's loads and loads of comments of support which is even more overwhelming," he added."We've had a lot of phone calls on the day. A father phoned in because her daughter was in tears [because] of what's happened to the shop."There's a lot of emotional outpouring because people think it's only a bear, but there's a story behind every bear."The shop has been closed since the incident but is due to reopen on Thursday.
