Restaurant owner left shocked as pair walk off with furniture
THE moment two men appear to steal a restaurant’s tables and chairs on a Cardiff street has been captured on film.
CCTV footage taken on Wellfield Road in Roath shortly before 8am on Monday shows two men dressed in dark clothing cross the street near its junction with Pen-Y-Lan Road and walk towards Saraztro Greek restaurant.
The pair then pick up three tables and five chairs which had been left outside the restaurant momentarily by a cleaner who was working inside, before calmly walking off.
One of the men, wearing a baseball cap and carrying a stack of chairs, even stops to let traffic pass before crossing the road.
The restaurant’s owner, Agit Ceviz, said: “It’s unbelievable,” he said.
“Our cleaner was working before we opened and he took the table and chairs out so he could clean inside the restaurant and behind the bar.
“He took them outside, he turned around and they had disappeared... We were just in shock, neither of us could believe it.”
Wellfield Road has recently been plagued by break-ins, with at least three businesses on the street targeted over the summer.
St Andrew’s Coffee Court, which donates all its profits to a local church and is run by volunteers, was damaged two nights in a row in June as vandals broke into their horsebox cafe in the church courtyard, while Agit’s former business Anatoni’s Pizzeria was also broken into in May.
Agit, who opened Saraztro nearly three years ago, said the road has changed hugely in that time – and that more needed to be done to tackle these thefts.
“It seems to be happening everywhere,” he said. “Thieves are breaking in and helping themselves to whatever they want – they’re even taking bikes from outside the restaurants and businesses – and now tables and chairs.”
A spokesperson for South Wales Police confirmed the force is now investigating the incident.
Anyone who may have seen the two individuals involved or has any other information is asked to contact South Wales Police quoting occurence *2100365617 via their online portal, by sending a private message on Facebook or Twitter, by phoning 101 or by emailing SWP101@south-wales.police.uk