Two Telford women today spoke of their devastation after thieves smashed through walls to ransack their businesses, stealing equipment and causing thousands of pounds’ worth of damage.

Claire Shaw, manager of bakers Queenies Cupcakery, and Christine Hartley, managing director of joiners Dylan and Hartley Ltd, said they have been left picking up the pieces after the weekend break-in.

The thieves smashed up the bakery at Queenies, throwing flour, eggs, and cakes across the floor and then moved on to Dylan and Hartley, working through the workshop before stealing valuable equipment.

Miss Shaw and Mrs Hartley said the intruders removed bricks from around windows to gain access to their units on Halesfield 18 between 1pm on Saturday and 6am on Sunday.

Miss Shaw, 38, said: “They removed the brickwork from around the small window in our toilet.

“After they got in they totally trashed the place. They threw flour across the room, chucked the eggs around and damaged a lot of equipment. There was also blood everywhere. Anything not touched will have to be thrown out. We have closed our shop in Ironbridge because we cannot bake.

“The damage to the bakery will cost around £3,000 to repair and replace ingredients. We will hopefully reopen tomorrow but this is soul-destroying.”

Police say the thieves moved on to the joiners and helped themselves to £10,000 of equipment. Mrs Hartley, 60, added: “Like the bakery the thieves made a hole around our toilet window by removing bricks.

“They smashed the toilet and stole a number of power tools from inside.

“We were lucky in the sense that they didn’t smash up the workshop but we can’t work without our tools.

“We only moved into this unit two weeks ago at some expense. The insurance will take a while to sort and in the meantime we will have to buy more tools.”

Police say anyone with information about them should call 0300 333 3000.

By Peter Finch