Shock moment balaclava-clad sledgehammer gang smash up TANNING BEDS in late-night shop raid
THIS is the shocking moment a balaclava-clad sledgehammer gang smashed up tanning beds in a late-night shop raid.
Thugs have broken into TanTastic in the East Sussex seaside town of Worthing three times since it opened in August.
Footage from the first break-in on September 30 shows two men in balaclavas slipping into the salon after nightfall.
One of them is seen wielding a sledgehammer – which he used to smash a tanning bed.
The two men also slathered the smashed-up bed with thick bitumen paint.
TanTastic’s owner Peter Bills said the salon’s windows were also attacked with a hammer earlier this month.
And a fire has since broken out at the business – gutting its interior and forcing 40 neighbours to evacuate.
Peter told the Argus: “The CCTV images showed someone attacking the key box and taking it off the wall.
“An hour later two lads came back. They smashed them up with a sledgehammer and threw paint over them.
“The business is destroyed now. We took it on the chin the first two times but now staff are losing money because they can’t work.”
Cops are now probing the alleged arson on October 21 and have appealed for witnesses.
A 61-year-old man from Hampshire was arrested on Saturday morning on suspicion of arson with intent to endanger.
The man has been released on conditional bail until January 24, cops said.
Witnesses or anyone with any information are asked to contact police online or call 101 quoting serial 1408 of 21/10.