A HEARTBROKEN cafe owner has told how burglars broke in overnight and took £1,000 from her till and safe.

Linda Marchant , 54, who owns Breakfast at Tiffany’s in York Place, Brighton, had saved up to buy her daughter a special 18th birthday present.

But following the break in overnight between Tuesday and Wednesday she has had to tell the teenager her present will have to wait.

Miss Marchant said: “I work so hard and then to have this happen is devastating.

“I had money in the safe to pay for deliveries and then I also put in my own money which I had saved for her present.”

The thieves are thought to have climbed along the roof and smashed the back window which leads to the pot washing area.

They then opened the window, removed the bars and squeezed through the small opening.

Ms Marchant said: “The police seem to think they are professionals. Looking at the window at the back you wouldn’t think they would be able to get through.

“They clearly must have known what they were doing.”

Once inside the building the burglars ripped out the CCTV box and made their way to the back room where the safe is kept.

They pulled it from the wall and prized the door open before taking the contents.

Miss Marchant said: “There must have been a few of them because you can’t move the safe on your own. I have no idea how they managed to get in.”

The burglars then made their way to the front of the cafe and emptied the till.

She said: “They took all the cash we had, even the pennies in the till.”

Determined to cover their tracks they grabbed the disinfectant from the kitchen and sprayed down all the surfaces they had been in contact with.

It was not until the following morning, when the cook opened up, that the break in was discovered.

Police were called and forensic teams searched for clues.

Miss Marchant said: “I’m heartbroken. Because they used gloves and the spray they didn’t use a trace.

“I’m due to fly out to Italy for my daughter’s 18th birthday and I was saving up for a special present.

“I’ve had to call her and say I can’t afford it now.”

She added: “The police said there was nothing more we could have done. The cafe is very secure, it just sounds as if it was a professional job.

“The cafe has been here for six years now and this is the first things like this to happen. We worry now when we come in every morning.”

Anyone with any information should call Sussex Police on 101.