The Governor’s House, Newark, ‘ransacked’ by burglar who stole cash, electronics, alcohol and food after smashing window

A burglar smashed a window and ‘ransacked’ a town centre cafe over the weekend, making off with cash, electronics, 80 rashers of bacon and a quiche, among other items.

Cherizena Coffee at The Governor’s House, on Stodman Street, Newark, was broken in to in the early hours of Sunday, December 1, before, based on security footage, the intruder spent over an hour ransacking the venue.

The incident came to light when Tanith Wesson, owner of Cherizena Coffee, woke on Sunday morning to find the premises’ motion and noise activated security cameras had been triggered.

Tanith said: “First we noticed there was a man walking around downstairs looking in boxes, at around ten to two, but the sound was actually first activated at 12.30am by the smashing of a window.

“We came over on Sunday to find such a lot of mess — just everywhere. He was obviously looking for cash and suchlike.

“You do feel a bit violated when someone just comes in uninvited and ransacks your stuff.”

As well as cash — some of which was from staff tip jars and charity collections — a number of other items were stolen including iPhones, an iPad, multiple bottles of alcohol, 80 rashers of bacon, half a sponge cake, and a gluten free quiche.

“You’ve either got a celiac who’s feeling quite bad after eating a sponge cake, or someone who could’ve chosen a regular quiche but has picked up a gluten free one,” Tanith added.

“It’s all horrible but obviously all insured, but the staff tips and the charity collections we try to raise as much as possible for — as far as I am concerned things like that are even worse because it’s people who have given to others.

“We’ve had a lot of support from lots of people, and Facebook has gone bonkers.

“When the community all get together behind something, it is stronger.”

Nottinghamshire Police has since launched an appeal for witnesses to the burglary, or any CCTV, doorbell, or dash-cam footage which may have captured the

Anyone with information is asked to leave it with the police by calling 101, quoting incident 166 of 1 December 2024, or to report it anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.