A Shellharbour bike shop had to turn customers away on Friday after an early-morning “smash and grab” left the business a crime scene and thousands of dollars out of pocket.
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Four high-end mountain bikes – three dual suspension and one “fat bike” – worth about $20,000 were taken from Simple Cycles during the break-in.
“They’ve just taken them straight out and gone,” store manager Tom Lenton said.
Mr Lenton said it appeared those responsible unsuccessfully tried to get through an external door using a grinder, before smashing the glass door to an arcade behind the store, then a glass window to access the goods.
Not content with their haul, the thieves grabbed the till – containing a float of about $400 – on the way out.
An alarm alerted security, who arrived within six minutes. “It’s really been a quick smash and grab,” he said.
“It’s a bit of a hard knock because we are a family business and there was a lot of money there.”
The stolen bikes were the “closest mountain bike to a motorbike”, he said.
