THIEVES have stolen £20,000 in goods, cash, and equipment from a family business in Dolgellau.

Elfyn Dafydd, a partner of GL Davies a’i Fab, a carpentry and building firm which started in 1978, was dismayed to find his business had been ransacked when he arrived at his unit on the Marian Mawr Industrial Estate last week.

Police have launched an investigation to find out who plundered the local business.

“It’s been 20 years since we last had tools stolen, and that was out of the back of my dad’s van,” said Elfyn.

“We’ve been in our new unit, which has a trade counter, for three years now and not had a whiff of trouble.

“It looks like four people have broken in through the back window and gone through the shop.

“They’ve taken high-value items from the shop floor, broken into the safe, and stolen my personal work tools as well, the ones I use on a daily basis. They also stole a trailer which was full of scrap. At least nobody was hurt but it is a pain in the a*** and a difficult way to start the new year. Our insurance claim looks like it’s going to around £20,000.”

The break-in occurred overnight between last Wednesday and Thursday (9 to 10 January) and Elfyn believes he has “excellent CCTV footage” of the culprits who he suggests had “scoped out the shop beforehand”.

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