A new discount shop in Cardiff has been broken into after being open for only two weeks. Discount Junction, operating out of the former HSBC bank on Cowbridge Road East in Canton, opened its doors on Monday, May 15 and suffered a break-in with its windows reportedly being smashed just two weeks later.
Co-owner Hannan Nasir said: "The community had really been looking forward to us opening up here, and they were really excited. It's been really good, but we've only been open for two weeks and yesterday someone had smashed through the glass window, took a load of stuff and smashed a window to get out."
The shop was broken into overnight and the damage was discovered on Monday, May 29. Pictures show the smashed windows of the building and the till, which Mr Nasir said was emptied and left outside the building. He estimates the loss, including cash taken from the till and the price of repairing damage to the building, is around £1,500.
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"Cash was taken but we're no longer leaving any cash in the till," he said. "It is really upsetting because we’ve been here for two weeks and we were so happy to open here. All of a sudden you get scared - is it going to happen again, what if I need to sleep in the shop overnight - it's just a scary feeling, isn't it?"
Discount Junction was opened as a "discount supermarket," which Mr Nasir says is the first of its kind in the city. The shop aims to sell goods at heavily cut prices - Mr Nasir explained: "We're basically selling all sorts of product, mainly food related but also tissues, pillows, pet food and products for dogs and cats.
"We travel really far to get our stock, and some of it is either slightly damaged or has a shorter date on it, like a three-month date for example. We're basically able to sell it a lot cheaper, for example we're selling big boxes of cereal at three boxes for £5, because some of the boxes out of so many were damaged and we've got a good contact that can get them". Mr Nasir said the police had done an "amazing job" at attending the scene and gathering evidence.
A South Wales Police spokesperson said: "Officers attended the Discount Junction store on Monday, May 29 following a report of an overnight break in. Crime scene investigators attended to open an investigation and conduct enquiries. No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing."
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