The owner of a Liverpool coffee shop that has been broken into three times in two weeks believes the business is being 'targeted.'
Michelle Langan runs the Papercup Coffee Shop, which was smashed up last night for the third time in a fortnight. She believes the business - which supports homeless people in Liverpool - is being picked out specifically by vandals and thieves.
In what has become a grimly familiar pattern in recent weeks, Ms Langan was woken by a call at around 6am this morning to be told that a main window in the Queen Square shop had been smashed in.
READ MORE: Tragedy after girl, 4, asked her dad to run her a bath
Once inside, the thieves again went looking for staff tips and the proceeds from the till, which was largely empty. Ms Langan believes they will have only got away with a few pounds, but the damage goes far wider than that.
She said: "Once again it means that we can't open. We had a queue of homeless people this morning wanting to come in for a coffee and something to eat and we couldn't let them in. They were so angry that this has happened again, this is their safe space.
"It can't be a coincidence that this has now happened three times in two weeks. It feels like we are definitely being targeted now, which is horrible and scary and sad. Why would you target a coffee shop that specifically supports homeless people in the city? Once again it is the homeless who will be missing out. They are really upset and feel personally targeted themselves.
"The three crimes are definitely linked, the people who got inside did the same things each time. We are waiting for the police now."
Ms Langan said she is looking into further security measures but said the lay-out of the shop building makes this difficult. She is hoping the shop will be able to open later today (Thursday) once police have been in to collect evidence.
You can donate to the Papercup Project here.
READ MORE:
Tragedy after girl, 4, asked her dad to run her a bath
Gangs from other cities 'reluctant to come to Liverpool'
Dad 'treated like criminal' as armed police search home for CCTV of shooting
