Owner's dismay after five burglaries

Burglars are plaguing a cafe opened in honour of Black Country comedy duo Aynuk and Ayli costing its distraught owner thousands of pounds in damage.

The Aynuk and Ayli Cafe only opened in Northfield Road, Netherton, in October but has already been burgled five times in the last four months. Cafe owner Paul Smith, son of Alan Smith otherwise known as Aynuk, said he is being left at the mercy of yobs by a lack of police patrolling the area. His hairdressers' salon opposite the cafe has also been hit.

Thousands of pounds worth of products have been taken from the salon which has been targeted three times since Christmas.

Mr Smith said: "When we opened this cafe we thought it would be a welcome addition to the community, but it becomes difficult to run a new business when you have to constantly put up with break-ins.

"The one morning we came in to find both the cafe and the hairdressers had been broken into at the same time. The cafe has been completley trashed a few times now.

"We don't have any money left on the premises, but they seem to break in for anything, one time they broke in just to steal all of the syrup."

Mr Smith said he has now forked out on thousands of pounds to beef up security at his two businesses including roller shutters on every window and security systems connected to the police station.

But he said he feared burglars would continue to target the area despite his measures.

He added: "I don't like to moan about the police because they are not the ones burgling shops but it is getting worse around here and I would like to see a higher police presence."

Business partners Paul Smith and Carlos Pardo opened the cafe last year and named it after the comedy duo. The cafe was once the old police station.

One half of the comedy duo John Plant, also known as Ayli, died at the end of 2006. The cafe and hairdressers' salon are the latest businesses in the region to be plagued by thieves and vandals.

Yesterday the owners of an old-fashioned sweet shop in Wolverhampton – Sweet Tooth, revealed they are selling their beloved business after vandals targeted it for the third time in a matter of weeks.