Thornaby shop owner says 'ram raid' came close to putting family out of business

A shop owner has told how a “ram raid” at his store in Thornaby has come close to putting his family out of business.

The Bismillah shop, a grocery and halal meat store on Oxford Road, just off Lanehouse Road, was badly damaged in the incident.

The front of the shop, including a door, window, the shutters and even the counter inside were all destroyed when it is believed a vehicle was driven into it.

Asif Naeem, the owner, said he was alerted to the damage in the early hours of Sunday morning by a neighbour.

Another neighbour had called police just after 3.30am to report the incident but did not see what happened, said Mr Naeem.

Asim Naeem from Bismillah Store and damage to the front of the shop

He said: “In the early hours of Sunday morning the shop was ram-raided. Previous to this the shop’s been broken into twice, in the December then last January. They got in towards the rear of the premises.

“I never thought someone would ever try to break in the front as it’s on quite a busy road. A neighbour informed me. He was on his way to the local mosque and saw the state of the shop.

“The day it happened I was quite shell-shocked to be honest and I wasn’t much use, but a lot of people all helped to clean up.

“It’s taken out the front of the shop and the counter and they’ve caused quite a lot of damage inside.”

He said whoever was responsible did not manage to get into the shop due to “the way the shutter broke” and nothing was stolen, but he has been left with the high cost of repairs.

Mr Naeem has run the shop himself with the help of two staff and his wife for 4 years. He lives nearby with his wife and three of his four children, who are all aged between eight and 18.

Asim Naeem inside the Bismillah Store

“I feel as though we’ve been targeted as no other businesses have had break-ins,” he added.

“This has come close to putting us out of business. It’s going to cost a lot to repair.

“The community has been very supportive though - people have donated things, cement, a door, a window, wood.

“A local supplier has already fitted a shutter for us, but there’s no door or window at the moment, and with the weather it’s quite cold and the rain is getting inside.”

A Cleveland Police spokeswoman confirmed they had received a report in relation to the incident.