BURGLARS raided a watch and jewellery shop in Wimborne, taking more than £14,000 worth of stock.

Mill House Antiques and Watches was broken into overnight at the weekend after raiders disabled the alarm system.

Owner Scott Fountain said: “They smashed up the security bars.

“They somehow disabled the burglar alarm and took about £12,500 worth of watches and £2,000 worth of rings and jewellery.

“A lot of the watches were vintage.

“This hasn’t happened since I’ve been here.

“I’m a watch shop with no watches. I’m Burger King with no burgers.”

Mr Fountain, 26, started the business in January 2019 and said it took him the whole year to build the collection he had.

“They were pretty professional about it. They wore gloves, they left just half a footprint,” he added.

“We still have repairs but that is only a fraction of my income. Even if insurance pays out, I can’t call up a supplier to get the watches back.

“I have to work quite hard to buy one watch at the right price. I have to buy at a price when I can still sell it on.”

Mr Fountain does have CCTV covering his store, but he said all you could see was the burglar’s torch light.

The burglary happened at 2am on Saturday morning and the thieves were there until 2.45am, Mr Fountain said.

Mr Fountain posted on Facebook after the break-in: “Unfortunately we were broken into last night at our shop in Wimborne. Therefore our website and social media may be quiet as all of our higher end watches and jewellery was stolen.

“If any of the followers on this page see any of the watches recently listed on the site at any markets, auctions or trade shows please let me know!

“Future updates coming soon as we try and recover from this rather hefty set back.”

A spokesperson for Dorset Police said: “We were called at 7.11am on Saturday, February 8 to a report of a burglary at Mill House Antiques and Watches on Mill Lane in Wimborne.

“It is believed the burglary happened some time between 1am and 3am on Saturday 8 February 2020. Enquiries are ongoing. No arrests have been made.”