AN INDEPENDENT shop in Winton had its window ‘smashed through’ with a wooden plank” and over £3,000 was stolen.

The owner of Boss Barbering, Lyle Maher, turned up to work on October 5 to a swarm of police outside his shop on Wimborne Road.

Lyle said he believes the burglary was unplanned, as before the man broke into the barbers, CCTV footage caught the suspect urinating on the wall and then eating an orange.

He said: “The window was completely smashed through.

“Someone had already called the police before we had turned up to work.

“We caught him on CCTV. He picked up a wooden plank and kept smashing the door until he was in.

“He went straight for the till and then ran off.”

The shop, which employs four other barbers, had to close for a full day on October 5 because ‘there was glass absolutely everywhere’—resulting in Lyle and the other barbers losing an entire day’s wages.

Including the cost of repairing the damage and what was taken from the till, Lyle estimated the business has lost over £4,000.

He said: “The shop is still boarded up, but most of our customers have been pretty understanding.

“We are supposed to be refurbishing the shop, but it just feels like there is no point if the shop is just going to get smashed up.

If it looks even nicer, people will be keener to rob us again.”

Lyle commented on the crime rates on Wimborne Road, saying that burglars frequently target the area.

According to data from the police.uk website, there have been ten reported burglaries on Wimborne Road between January and September 2024.

Lyle said: “It just feels like people can go around doing whatever they want, and the only consequence is a slap on the wrist.

“It would be nice if they received punishments which would make them think twice about doing it again.”

Dorset Police confirmed that they received a report at 7.30am on Saturday, October 5 of a burglary at a barbers in Wimborne Road in Bournemouth.

A spokesperson for the police said: “Officers attended and carried out an examination of the scene.

“Enquiries are continuing into the incident. No arrests have been made at this time.”