Burglars strike at Thatcham bowling alley

Thousands of pounds stolen from recently refurbished centre

A £10,000 reward is being offered to catch burglars who broke into Thatcham’s recently-refurbished bowling alley last week.

They struck at Lakeside Superbowl in the early hours of Friday, stealing thousands of pounds from fruit machines.

The bowling alley, in Lower Way, re-opened last month after being bought by Newbury company BDZ Holdings.

Managing director Bob Rae told the NWN he would be offering the reward to anyone with information leading to the culprits being convicted.

He said: “We are very disappointed and upset that after a huge effort by several of our businesses working together to return such an important facility back to the Newbury community, we should be immediately targeted by thieves in this way.

“I hope that the community will get together and help us identify these criminals and bring them to justice.

“Thank you to all the customers who have supported us since the opening and for their patience as our team worked hard to put all the historic and teething problems right as soon as we could.”

The balaclava-clad burglars were caught on CCTV. They triggered an alarm, but in the short time it took for the centre manager to arrive they had fled.

The break-in occurred around 2.30am last Friday.

Anyone with information should contact Thames Valley Police on 101 with crime reference number 43180342336 with the date of November 9.