Men in CCTV sought after cafe door handle theft

The operators of a Bristol cafe that had its door handles stolen the night before opening to the public have released CCTV footage of a group of men they would like police to speak with.

The Crafty Egg, which opened on Church Road, Redfield, on Saturday, on the site of the former Wetherspoons pub, was targeted by "brazen thieves" hours before opening for the first time, its assistant manager Scarlett Gates said.

Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident and have urged witnesses to come forward.

Ms Gates told the BBC that while the business was "unaffected" by the incident, it had been "frustrating".

Ms Gates said the incident took place after a launch event held at the cafe for "a small number of special guests" to help staff test out the facilities.

"Everything went perfectly and everyone seemed happy," she said, adding that they had closed at about 22:00 BST.

But a couple of hours later, between 00:40 and 01:30 BST, the door handles on the front exterior of the building were removed.

The theft was only discovered when the cafe was opened to the public the following day for the first time.

Ms Gates said she presumed those responsible "believed there to be some scrap value".

"We don’t know what they were made out of - they were the original Wetherspoons handles."

An Avon and Somerset Police spokesperson said: “We received a report yesterday [Monday] that four door handles had been stolen from the front door of a business property in Church Road in the Redfield area of Bristol.

They said the incident took place "between 00:40am and 01:25am on Saturday 12 October and inquiries are ongoing".

“If you were in the area at the time and saw anything saw suspicious or have any other information which could help our investigation, please call 101 and quote reference 5224271166.”

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Avon and Somerset Police