A New Forest restaurant owner has described walking into a 'war zone' after his cafe was trashed and a Nazi symbol was daubed on the premises.
Adem Dursun, was distraught after finding food strewn all over the floor of his diner, Adam’s Café in Hythe, on Saturday morning.
The eatery on South Street was broken into between 10.30pm and 11pm on Friday and as well as the damage a small amount of stock was taken.
The 46-year-old, who has owned the restaurant for three years, could not believe his eyes when he saw what had happened.
Speaking to the Echo, the Turkish dad who has lived in the UK for 25 years said: “I came to work at 7.10am on Saturday and it was horrendous.
“It was like a war zone, as if someone put a bomb in the place and blew it up. I was gutted.
“They came from the back door and they trashed the place.
“It is so disappointing because it’s how we make a living."
Although the cost of the damage was minimal, Adem had to close the restaurant for cleaning, which he said is affecting his business.
He said: “We have to be closed over the weekend to clean the mess they made.
“When the police saw what the damage had been done, they said they had not seen anything like that for a while.
“And they didn’t even take any money. Every night I take the money out of the till and leave it open by the window so that thieves know there is no money left here overnight.”
To make things worse the perpetrators drew a Swastika during the break-in.
“I just see it as a sign they were racist,” the Turkish owner said.
Following the break-in, Adem fears this won’t be the last time his business is targeted.
A police spokesperson said: “If anyone has any information which could help with our investigation, we ask that they report this to us by calling 101 and quote reference number 44240251631.”
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