A Glasgow cafe owner was 'reduced to tears' at the start of this week after her cafe was broken into by young thugs.
Sofie Ford, owner of Where The Monkey Sleeps on Argyle Street, talked of how it was "hard to shake the looting feeling" after she received a call from the police at midnight on Monday evening.
She said: "I'm normally an early bedder but I wasn't sleeping well that night.
"We were facing difficult decisions about staff and whether or not to close due to what is going on. I usually sleep very heavy.
"I got a call from police at about midnight to say that there was a break in.
"The cafe is fronted by two big glass windows, and I thought that it was them that would have been smashed but thankfully it was just the door. There was a lot of glass.
"They took our till and all of our money, about £600.It's not an insignificant amount. I thought at first it would have been all the loo roll".
Although treating it with some humour now, Sofie said that the emotional impact of the thoughtless crime was the hardest hitting part.
"It's kicking us when we're down. I'm gutted and I shed a few tears with the police that night.
"I think the reality is that we're going through a really tough time here as a country in the industry and stuff like this is totally grim. We're facing tough enough decisions as it is but it's dire."
Police Scotland confirmed to The Glasgow Times: "An investigation is underway and enquiries are ongoing."
Sofie became the owner of Where The Monkey Sleeps in 2012, as well as their other two shops in Trongate and West Regent Street.
Where the Monkey Sleeps is a favourite in the city, and has been open for 20 years. Sofie says that the reaction from customers and the local community has helped her feel much better about the situation.
"We are running as a delivery service just now, and doing take out and today someone came in and paid a fiver just for a coffee.
"It's amazing the sense of spirit in the community just now.
"We might not get that money back in future but we know that we will still have our amazing customers. That's what matters."
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