'Burglars who raided my cafe have been ID'd - but police aren't interested'

A cafe owner has told of her heartbreak that the burglars who ransacked her business last month remain at large.

The Engine Room Cafe, in the Hunslet area of Leeds, was raided on 14 July, with those responsible causing around £1,500 worth of damage and stealing more than £500 worth of food and stock.

Fiona West, who has run the cafe since March, said the incident had "knocked her for six" and claimed the police appeared to be "not interested" in catching the burglars, with no arrests having been made despite customers identifying them.

West Yorkshire Police said it was making "further inquiries into the identities of the suspects suggested".

Among the stock seized by the burglars was 48 cans of Red Bull, while they even made off with four toilet rolls.

West, 63, said: "The whole incident has just made everything worse.

"We're just a small business. We're up at 05:50 every day trying to make a living and these people come and ruin it all. It's heartbreaking."

She added: "Emotionally, it's taken everything we've put into that business out. The other day I just wanted to walk away from it all."

West, who said she and her partner had "put all our savings" into the cafe, added that she "no longer feels safe" working in the area and is considering moving to a premises elsewhere in Leeds.

Earlier this week West posted CCTV footage of the break-in on Facebook and claimed police were "not bothered" about catching the suspects.

She told the BBC that several customers had identified them, but that officers still hadn't appeared to have followed up on this information.

"They're just not interested," she said. "When it happened we were in at 06:30 and the police didn't show up until around 16:00.

"We just want something doing about it quickly. The officer who was dealing with it promised me a call back on Tuesday evening and I'm still waiting."

A West Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "This remains a live investigation and officers are making further inquiries into the identities of the suspects suggested.

"Items found at the scene of the burglary by the attending officers have also been sent off for forensic tests."

Police have also asked anyone with further information about the case to get in touch.

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