Raiders grab 150 prom dresses

Catherine Beaumont, co-owner of Proms & Pearls in Shelf, near Halifax, was distraught after raiders smashed the front window and made off with a large amount of stock.

The store, in Carr House Road, has only been open 15 months but the owners say the break-in will not deter them from trading.

She said: “We are in the middle of the prom season, so we have a lot of people ringing up who want to come down.

“The thieves broke our front display window; it’s horrendous but we have to keep going - we have to.”

The burglary happened at around 9.45pm on Monday. The thieves are thought to have grabbed stock and escaped in a car.

Around 150 prom dresses were stolen. Some were abandoned in the middle of the road as the thieves made their escape.

The shop has since taken delivery of fresh stock and the owners are keen to let customers know that they are trading as normal.

“The dresses were in the middle of the road after the smash-and-grab. They left as quickly as they could,” said Ms Beaumont.

“It’s going to be business as usual. Customer orders are all safe and their deposits are safe.”

The shop’s owners were due to take part in a prom fashion show but this may have to be cancelled, although a final decision has yet to be made.

The owners are now considering improving security with the addition of a shutter inside the window which would still allow them to to display stock to passers-by.

A West Yorkshire Police spokesman appealed for witnesses to contact Halifax CID by telephoning 101.

He said scenes of crime officers had attended the scene following a response car which had searched the area.