THE NEW owner of an Old Town café was stunned after he discovered the  window has been smashed by a vandal just two days before reopening.  

Udaya Hetti, who bought Dotty’s Café on Devizes Road a couple of months ago, said: “The café was shut for five months because of lockdown, and we wanted to give our customers a good visual when we reopen on Tuesday. I’m just disappointed because we worked hard to give it a new look, with a new sign.” 

Udaya told the Adver  the incident, which has been reported to the police, happened at around 12.50am on Sunday morning.

He said: “There is some road work going on in front of the café. They took one of the yellow cones from the road work outside and hit my window."

Swindon Advertiser:

He owner hopes he will still be able to open on Tuesday.  “I can’t speak to any window suppliers today because it’s Sunday and I need to call them tomorrow morning and see what we can do.” 

Udaya informed his customers via a post on Facebook. It reads: “Dotty’s café is deeply saddened that after five months of lockdown some idiot has taken it upon themselves to smash our front window.  

“We know when it happened the time is visible on our CCTV. If the person who did this comes forward and pays for the damage, we will let it go.” 

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A Wiltshire Police spokesman confirmed they are investigating the incident. 

He said: “We can confirm that we received a report of criminal damage at the Dotty’s Old Town Café on Devizes Road this morning.  

“Our enquiries are at an early stage but it is understood to have happened between 6.30pm last night (May 15) and 9.45am this morning. 

“Anyone with any information or any CCTV from the area that could help officers with their enquiries is asked to contact us on 101.”