THE owner of a mobile catering business has spoken of her 'disgust' after the business was broken into.

The Sins Catering van outside Bartletts Country Stores at St Andrew's Trading Estate on Shoe Lane, Bridport was broken into overnight on Friday, September 10.

The lock on the storage unit was broken and a number of items were stolen, including a television, cash and a piggy bank full of donations for the Dorset and Somerset Air Ambulance.

The van is protected by a gate, barbed wire fencing and has CCTV cameras in operation outside of Bartletts.

The owner of the catering business, who did not want to be named, said: "After everything we've been through in the last year and a half it just feels catastrophic. It was only a few hundred pounds but it still hits really hard.

"We've been working so hard to get back on our feet after being closed for so long and we've only been back open a few months. You work so hard to build up a business so for someone to come along and take it is just appalling. Go and earn your own money.

"We've only just reopened and we can't afford setbacks like this.

"It's absolutely disgusting, they didn't just take from us they took from a charity. It was a loathsome act of cowardice and greed to steal money from the Air Ambulance."

As a result of the break-in, the Sins van had to close for a number of days, resulting in a further loss of earnings.

The incident was reported to police on Saturday morning, after staff arrived for their shift and realised the van had been broken into.

Dorset Police said that enquiries into the incident are ongoing and no arrests have been made at this time.

The owner added: "Because we're in the car park with CCTV and barbed wire we thought we were bulletproof. I have no idea how they got in. Our location is so secure and no one has ever been able to get in before.

"One thing that's for sure is that we will never leave anything valuable on the premises again."