THIEVES stole charity collection boxes during burglaries at a takeaway restaurant and hair salon.

The burglars broke into Sammy’s Kebabs and Pure Hair and Beauty in the High Street on the same night.

They stole £500 in cash from Sammy's as well as collection boxes for Wiltshire Air Ambulance and Children in Need, while money and expensive hairdressing equipment was taken from Pure.

The crimes, which happened overnight between January 8-9, follow several other burglaries and attempted break-ins in Cricklade over the past month.

Owner of Sammy’s, Huynh Turkan condemned the thieves for stealing from charities.

“How low can people get?" the 45-year-old said. "They took the money from here and they are that low they took the money from the sick children as well."

Mrs Turkan said the ordeal had left her unable to sleep at night.

“I am having nightmares. I am anxious,waking up in the middle of the night, worrying about things. I think that sometimes when I am on my own something bad will happen.”

The burglars gained entry to the takeaway by breaking the lock on the back door.

Jane Harris, owner of Pure, said she was devastated when she discovered the salon had been raided.

"I was really shocked and upset because you do not think it is going to happen to you and when it does it is a big shock," she said.

“I am trying to move on but I am a little bit nervous and shaken. It has kept me up at night as you do not know what you are going to find Turn to page 3 (Continued from page 1) when you come back in again in the morning. ”

There is CCTV and an alarm system at Sammy's but Mrs Turkan, who has been running the business for 18 years, said she did not turn them on because she believes Cricklade was a safe place.

She has now tightened up security at the shop by making sure her CCTV and alarm system is turned on at night, as well as changing the locks on the back door of the shop.

After forcing a lock on one of the windows on the shop front of Pure Hair and Beauty Salon, thieves stole cash and expensive thinning scissors.

On January 15 a camper van was broken into on Deansfield, and thieves stole two sets of keys.

A leaf blower and fuel was taken from a shed at a property on Byre Close on December 23 and on December 19 thieves tried and failed to break into a shed on Portwell.

Police are linking the two burglaries on the High Street and believe some of the other break-ins and burglaries in the town could be linked.

A police spokesman Chris Wise said: “We believe the Cricklade High Street burglaries could be linked and some but not all of the other incidents could be linked. If anyone saw anything suspicious we urge them to come forward.”

If you know anything about the break-ins and burglaries call police on 101.