Clothes shop reopens after devastating burglary

Raiders spent hours clearing some 20,000 of stock from the shelves of Gekko Street Surfers in Regency Arcade on July 16.

It was the second major burglary at the store since last November and owner Jennie Cunliffe said this time she nearly threw in the towel.

But she decided instead to come out fighting and opened the doors again last Friday.

The thieves had taken almost every scrap of stock, comprising of street and surf wear and accessories, so the shelves are a still a little sparse.

Jennie says the business is slowly getting back on its feet and things will get back to normal in the next few weeks.

She said: "There's been a lot of soul-searching over whether or not it was worth it. We'd worked so hard to build the business and the two robberies were a big blow. But last week my family and me decided to go for it so it's been a bit of a rush since then.

"A lot of people thought we had closed for good but we're determined to build ourselves up again, even if it means starting from scratch."

Jennie would like to thank family, friends and customers for the support she has received since the robbery.