A ROMSEY cafe manager has had to fork out hundreds of pounds after vandals forced their way into the building last week.

Manager of the The Water Garden Cafe, Richard Leach, had to shell out £700 after discovering the door had been smashed open with a "crowbar".

Police have issued an appeal for witnesses to the incident, which happened between 6.30pm on January, 15, and 8.20am on Thursday, 16 January.

Now the manager has installed extra security in the cafe after yobs ripped out the till in Greatbridge Road.

Richard, who lives in Romsey's high street, said: "We have had to pay £700 to repair the door, the glass and we had three new cameras installed after we were broken into.

"I think they used a crowbar to pry the door open and we had to close the cafe for the rest of the day, which meant we lost out on £500 in sales.

"The till draw was ripped away from the counter and we have had to replace a few of the wires that were damaged.

"We reported this to the police and they have asked us to look on our CCTV for any clear pictures of the people, but unfortunately there is not so it could be anyone."

The 36-year-old added: "The CCTV shows three guys looking into the cafe and they were wearing builders clothes, such as work trousers, white polo tops and high visibility items; it was all brand new.

"I do not know what state of mind they were in and I cannot believe they have done this; it is stupid really.

"We have not lost any money because I empty the tills at the end of each day and they left the charity money as well as the tips.

"Quite a lot of break ins seem to be happening at the moment, like at Chef Peking."

A spokesperson from Hampshire police said: "Anyone with information should call 101 quoting 44200018626 or contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111."