The Handyman in Eye ‘outraged’ after goods stolen from shop

On Monday, January 27, the owner of The Handyman store in Eye noticed that dozens of plastic containers had been stolen from outside the building in Broad Street.

Bruce Salter, 56, then checked his store’s CCTV footage and spotted that an individual had approached the store and taken the items before fleeing in a van. 

The items were stolen from outside of the store in Eye (Image: The Handyman) He then saved the footage and posted it on Facebook, beginning a community-wide appeal to get the thief to return the stolen goods. 

He said: “He just helped himself to the lot and then left. 

“Every time I thought about it I found myself angrier and angrier.

“It was very frustrating.

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Bruce Salter (right) with Oliver Green who also works at The Handman in Eye (Image: The Handyman) “When I posted the footage of him on Facebook it was then shared hundreds of times. 

“Of course, the public was outraged as people know us and know the value of our service.

“We also received some really kind words of support from our customers. 

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Police then tracked down the stolen goods (Image: Halesworth Police)Officers say they were then able to track down the individual involved in the incident and the items were returned on Monday.

A spokesman for Halesworth Police said: “It gives me great pleasure to announce that the suspect has been dealt with and the stolen items have been recovered and returned to the shop.”

Mr Salter added: “The man has now apologised and the situation has been resolved.”

“I was really touched to see the community’s support for us during this incident. 

“The post was eventually viewed by 39,000 people before I took it down.

Police confirmed the items had been returned on Monday (Image: Halesworth Police) “The post went far and wide and we want to thank everyone who came together to help us with this.”

The Handyman store has existed in Broad Street for more than 40 years and Mr Salter says the premises can be traced back to being a hardware store as far back as the 1880’s.