A café's future is under threat after a vandal caused thousands of pounds of damage – prompting its owner to release photos of the suspected culprit.  

Luiza Davey, owner of Little Devil’s Café in Terrace Road, Aberystwyth, has released CCTV images on social media and is appealing for information in a bid to catch the person responsible.

On Sunday morning, staff were dismayed to discover that the front window of the café - which has been running for more than four years - had been smashed. 

Ms Davey says paying a bill which could total a few thousand pounds might spell the end for her business – or force her into taking out a risky loan.  

She also appealed directly to the person who smashed the window, urging them to 'have a conscience' and come forward to pay for the damage.

Many small businesses in Aberystwyth town centre have been forced to close or are facing closure due to crippling cost increases.  

Ms Davey says her gas and electricity bills have quadrupled since last year as the cost of living across the UK rose exponentially amid record inflation. 

CCTV images provided by neigbouring businesses appear to show a man and a woman arguing outside the café in the early hours of Sunday morning. The man then appears to kick the window in anger. 

Ms Davey told the Cambrian News: “We really need him to pay and come forward himself. He knows what he’s done. Have a conscience and sort something out with us. 

“I need the money. We’re the same as any small business in town – we are teetering on the edge every month. 

“All our money goes on energy costs. All of it now. It’s horrendous. I’m not the only one in this situation. 

“We go month to month and we have nothing extra. We just can’t afford it.” 

After reporting the incident to the police, Ms Davey said she was forced to take matters into her own hands after 48 hours of inaction.  

"Police hadn’t even contacted the bank which is two doors down from us with cameras facing our way,” she said.  

“I just don’t think it’s a big enough crime and they’ve probably got a lot going on – they're understaffed and they don’t have the resources. 

“Aberystwyth is a small community and everybody knows each other – and so the police agreed that it would help if we put pictures on Facebook.  

“Our camera is a little grainy and dark, but other clearer pictures have been sent to me by other businesses, and you can clearly see him kicking the glass.” 

She said she was ‘gutted’ after being sent an image of the smashed window on Sunday morning, and praised the police for their quick follow up.

“We’ve lost a lot of business because the table by the window is out of service,” she said, “which is frustrating because it’s half term and we often have a full café during that time.   

“The window table and the outside table are both out of order. The inside table being out of action equates to about a loss of £40 an hour - and that's a conservative estimate.” 

Ms Davey reiterated that the cost of produce is rising all the time, and is probably 20 per cent up on last year for most products. And now there are shortages of eggs, salad and tomatoes to contend with, she says. 

The worst-case scenario is that refitting the window also causes structural damage which would result in the café closing until repairs take place.  

She is awaiting a precise quote but has been told the costs will hit ‘thousands of pounds.’ 

She thanked other businesses for supporting her and providing her with CCTV images.  

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said: "We are investigating after a window was smashed at a property in Terrace Road, Aberystwyth, at around 2.40am on Sunday, 19 February.

Anyone with information that could help officers with their investigation is asked to report it to Dyfed-Powys Police, either online at: https://bit.ly/DPPContactOnline, by emailing [email protected], or by calling 101. If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech impaired text the non-emergency number on 07811 311 908. Quote reference: DPP/0441/19/02/2023/02/C.

"Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555111, or visiting crimestoppers-uk.org."