A BUSINESS owner whose shop was targeted by criminals has hit out at the response from the police.

Burglars attempted to break into the Border Reiver Shop and Cafe in Otterburn on Monday, July 22.

Northumbria Police said nothing was believed to have been taken, but an investigation was ongoing into the incident.

However, shop owner Gordon Moore has criticised the police for their delayed response.

He said: “We reported the incident at 6.30am on Monday, and the initial response was a telephone call 14 hours later.

“We were then told an officer might not be able to visit for a week.

“What is disappointing, but not surprising is the lack of support from Northumbria Police. Ourselves and several other businesses in Otterburn believe we are not given an appropriate level of support.

“We feel unrepresented.”

As a result, Mr Moore said he had had to carry out most of the investigations into identifying the suspects himself. “The business is covered internally and externally by CCTV, so we have identified people that we believe to be suspects.

“We continue to put measures in place to make sure we’re protected from crime.”

Mr Moore added that three police officers visited the shop on Friday, and all the information was forwarded to them.

A Northumbria Police spokeswoman said officers would not be deployed if there was no immediate risk to persons or property or if there was no opportunity to catch an offender at the scene.

She added: “Each incident reported to police is individually risk assessed and a decision is made as to how best to proceed with inquiries.

“This is the case for all investigations regardless of location or crime.”