OWNERS of a West Belfast chippy say they are "furious and heartbroken" after a violent attack on their premises.
The incident happened at McCann's Fish and Chips shop on the Shaws Road on Monday. A window and TV was smashed and damaged caused to their card machine.
In a statement on Facebook, McCann's said: "While our shop was open, someone came in drunk and wrecked the place, smashed a window, broke a TV, damaged our card machine and worst of all, terrified our young staff and the children inside.
A broken window
"Our team are teenage girls – hardworking, respectful young people who were simply doing their job. They were left shaken, scared, and in tears. We even had to hide children behind the counter to protect them from the chaos.
"This should never happen in a place that’s meant to be safe for everyone. That is someone daughter behind our counters and someone's children.
"We are angry. We are disgusted and we are heartbroken that anyone would bring this kind of violence and fear into our business – a place that serves families, friends, and our community.
"The safety of our staff and customers will always come first. We’re closing the shop temporarily while we take care of them and get things sorted.
"We did not come here to pour our hearts into this business everyday to be threatened by a drunken thug and especially not to threaten and scare young respectful girls who work hard everyday for the community.
"Your ability to handle liquor may be weak but we are not.
"To everyone who has checked in or offered support, thank you. We won’t forget it. We’ll be back soon."
