A thief broke into the Wellesley cinema in Wellington and made off with a till.

The suspect was caught on video forcing their way into the venue at around 3am on Easter Monday.

CCTV shows the robber attempt to pry open the cinema's front door with what is thought to be a crowbar.

When that failed, the individual returned with a rock which they used to smash a pane of glass and reach through for the door's push bar.

The thief then set about opening a till, only to discover it contained no cash. The suspect came across a second till, which was stolen from the premises. Neither till contained any money.

The damage to the cinema could cost in excess of a thousand pounds to repair, according to the manager of the Wellesley, Elly Salter.

She said: "I received a voicemail saying the alarm was going off and then Josh, the assistant manager, went down and found the door smashed in.

"They tried with a crowbar but that didn't work. They haven't taken anything except the till under our manager's desk, they've taken that, it's got nothing in it.

"I put it on Facebook and there was quite a lot of anger and everyone is quite keen to catch whoever did it, which is nice. One of the people who has been working here for 26 years said it had never been broken into, it's the first ever time.

The front door of the cinema was boarded up on Tuesday after it was smashed in with a rock
The front door of the cinema was boarded up on Tuesday after it was smashed in with a rock (Tindle)

"I've got to get the door fixed and the lock and the window. Glass is not cheap to replace, it's going to be a fair few hundred pounds. I'm going to have to get a locksmith out and get loads of keys cut."

Elly appealed for the return of the till: "If somebody finds our till abandoned somewhere could we have it back?"

Josh Thorne, the cinema's assistant manager, was the first member of staff on the scene. He said: "I received the call at about 10.58 in the morning to say the alarm was going off.

"I thought it would maybe be a delivery driver but I arrived to find the window had been smashed in with a considerable sized rock. It was tumbled through the window, I think they pushed against the push to open bar, and made their way in.

The thief is seen silhouetted against the front doors of the Wellesley as they attempt to make entry
The thief is seen silhouetted against the front doors of the Wellesley as they attempt to make entry (Wellesley Cinema )

"No stock was taken but the tills were opened, but we don't keep any money in there. Then I went over to the manager's desk and he had cut the wire and taken the till, but again there is nothing kept in there.

"It was a bit of a shock. It's not something that we've ever had here. There's no behaviour like this that I've ever seen so it came as a bit of a shock to everyone. It's lucky no one was hurt.

"It's quite unsettling because Wellington is normally seen as quite a safe place for everyone. It creates a sense of uncertainty to say the least."

Avon and Somerset Police is appealing for anyone with any information about the Wellesley break in to call 101, quoting the reference number 5223082642.

Coffee #1 on Fore Street was also broken into on the same night, police have confirmed.

A forensics van was seen outside of Coffee #1 on Tuesday, after it was broken into on Monday night
A forensics van was seen outside of Coffee #1 on Tuesday, after it was broken into on Monday night (Tindle)

A spokesperson for the force said: "Enquiries are being carried out after a coffee shop in Fore Street, Wellington, was broken into at around 2am yesterday, Monday, April 10. We ask anyone with any information to call 101 and quote reference 5223082566."

A police forensics van was seen outside the coffee shop on Tuesday morning.