A TRADER is £10,000 out of pocket after a burglar hid in Halstead Antiques Centre before raiding two jewellery cabinets.

When staff locked the antiques centre in Townsford Mill, a burglar evaded checks by hiding under a table, and proceeded to steal a range of jewellery from the cabinets, both belonging to Dave Wiltshire, once the centre had closed.

Mr Wiltshire has been dealing jewellery as a hobby for the last four years, starting with just £1,000.

After increasing the value of his collection ten-fold, Mr Wiltshire is certain the raid, on Sunday, April 23, will be the end of his dealing pastime.

He said: “I buy all the jewellery, price it up, put it in the cabinet and then they do the rest. It is a bit of a hobby I have built up over the last four years or so, and it has mounted up.

“I had in excess of 200 items stolen, which is worth roughly £10,000, without any exaggeration.

“It is finished, I started with £1,000 and built it up from there, but I can’t do that again. I was always building up profit but I can’t replace what I have lost and I can’t start again.”

The burglar is seen on CCTV entering the antiques centre with a woman, taking a look around.

Then, as the woman leaves, he is seen going to the back of the room and hiding under a table. He waited roughly two hours before emerging, smashing Mr Wiltshire’s cabinets and then leaving through a fire exit.

Although Mr Wiltshire’s items were uninsured, he feels he should be compensated by the centre .

He said: “I am on the top floor of the mill, which is fully alarmed, all the doors are locked. You never expect someone to be able to get in and get out.

“The contract says they will do everything they can to protect our antiques, but they haven’t done that here.

“Maybe it is my own fault, but I never considered insurance, I always thought it was secure up there.

“Surely someone must check the building before it is locked, they say they do but obviously they haven’t, this is neglect on their part. They are saying they will not pay any compensation, but they are at fault here.”

The owner of Halstead Antiques Centre says there is no chance a trader targeted by burglars will get any compensation.

Traders in the antiques centre, including Dave Wiltshire, all sign an agreement and are issued with insurance information when they sign up, but then the decision is left to the individual.

James Kilbury, owner of the Townsford Mill centre, said: “I can confirm that a burglary took place and it is now in the hands of the police.

“I can also confirm that Dave signed an agreement when he joined the centre that states we do not insure individual dealers items.

“All of our traders are given information about insurers when they join us, and from then it is their decision.

“Although I do understand why Dave feels aggrieved, I can assure you that all of the proper security checks were conducted that night.”

A police spokesman said: “Police are investigating a burglary at an address in The Causeway, Halstead on April 23.

“Officers were called at around 9pm.

“Someone has gained entry to the building targeted two glass cabinets and removed jewellery worth a five-figure sum.

“Anyone with any information is asked to contact Essex Police on 101, quoting incident 953 of 23/04, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”