A haulage firm employing 18 people is shutting down because of the cost of dozens of crimes.
The final blow came when staff arrived at East Coast Tipping in Boxted yesterday to find raiders had taken tens of thousands of pounds worth of computers and cash.
Final straw - Michael Wheeler, general manager of East Coast Tipping in Boxted, which is being forced to shut down after a costly burglary. Picture: TERRY WEEDEN
A door had been forced and burglars had trashed the premises in Queen's Head Road before fleeing with their haul, worth an estimated £50,000.
Managing director David Williams decided to close down the 15-year-old company because information on all the customers who owed it money was lost in the break-in. The loss of the data would make it almost impossible to collect the debts, which he said could run into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
He said the planned closure was heartbreaking: "We are all upset about it but we are fighting a losing battle."
Mr Williams, 47, said that in the past East Coast Tipping had lost thousands of pounds worth of machinery to thieves and faced many attacks by vandals.
Published Tuesday, June 17, 2003
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