Speedy Beers: Wigan business left with big bill after being burgled and ransacked

At around 5.35am on Monday morning, two men entered the premises of Speedy Beers via the back entrance, after breaking the door in half.

The alcohol delivery service, which is based on City Road in Kitt Green, is close to celebrating its first birthday, after opening last December.

Owner Luke Pemberton, 35, said: “It’s heartbreaking. This is a brand new shop, I’ve taken it from a building where nothing worked to what it is now. I’ve refurbished it and made it open plan.

“We give so much back to the community, our philosophy is if we make a great amount of profit, we give it back. There’s so much that we do and it’s not to win any popularity contests.

“We do enough to get by, so for something like this there isn’t a Speedy Beers pot of money. I will use the money I get as a professional DJ to cover the costs.

“We had all the security protocols in place, the whole incident took no longer than eight minutes. The door was split in half, even though it was reinforced with iron. From the CCTV it only looked like they were going for cash.

“We’ve had trees chopped down in the back, so it’s probably made the garden more accessible because it is less of a jungle.

“It has cost £500 now to fit a new security door, so hopefully that will stop people. We’ve also installed new security features.”

The new till at the shop was broken in the burglary, but only contained a small amount of change from staff tips which would’ve been donated to a charity of their choice, and amounted to around £30.

They took a further £200 of items, but a lot of the costs will go towards the damage caused by the break-in.

Mr Pemberton said: “I can’t really emphasise enough how heartbreaking it is. It has crushed me. When they broke in they just ransacked the place, and they knew exactly what they were doing.

On social media, customers of the shop shared their support.

One person wrote: “So sorry to hear this, you have put so much hard work into your fantastic business. Don’t get disheartened.”

Another added: “This is so sad, I am so very sorry you have had this happen to your business.”

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