BURGLARS caused more than £4,000 of damage when they broke into a Swindon skate shop and stole just £70.

The ATB Shop, which sells equipment and clothes for extreme sports like skateboarding and snowboarding, is part of Swindon’s only skate park.

Masked criminals targeted the retailer and cut through a perimeter fence, wrecked the security shutter over the shopfront, then smashed the till.

The shop’s owner Diana Kirk said: “It’s a real kick on the teeth and it’s put us all on edge.

"I’m constantly worried and don’t feel like I can relax.

“It was quite an upsetting and scary experience. It’s hard enough running your own business without stupid people doing things like this.

“We’re very fortunate that we have the money to cover the damages, this could have closed us a few years ago.”

Diana watched the pre-Christmas incident happen on CCTV, which she has circulated in an attempt to identify the burglars.

She added: “We were at home when we got the call about the burglary, then we raced over - the police were already there.

“The crooks not the brightest of sparks - they spent two-and-a-half hours outside in the pouring rain for this and they could’ve got more working at McDonald’s for a few hours.

“They smashed the till in the Oasis car park and got into a small grey car that looked like an old-style Vauxhall Corsa.

“We couldn’t open until 12 the next day. Kids were worried that their Christmas presents had been stolen, but luckily they were safe.

“We’ve upgraded our security now with facial recognition now.I’m grateful they didn’t target the other shopfront, the repair bill would have been over £10,000.

“Putting this through insurance would have been unfeasible - extreme sports venues are already costly for insurance - so we’ve taken a direct financial hit.

“Our customers have been so understanding and the police have been amazing.”

A spokeswoman for Wiltshire Police said: “We are investigating a burglary which occurred at the ATB Shop in Hawksworth Industrial Estate on December 20 at approximately 10.15pm.

“The offender forced open the shutters at the premises and stole approximately £70 from the till and a safe. Enquiries are ongoing.”