A BUSINESSMAN who had £100,000 worth of drones taken from his shop last week in a “soul-destroying” burglary promised to continue to try and track down the stolen items.

Mark Boyt, who won backing on Dragons’ Den from Peter Jones in 2018, is offering a reward for information about the two thieves who broke into his shop on Tuesday December 28.

CCTV shows two masked men at the business in unit 32 of Chichester Enterprise Centre in Terminus Road.

Mark told how “professional thieves” rushed through the building, heading directly to his Drone Safe Store.

They smashed their way in, taking just three minutes to steal the valuable items, before leaving via the fire escape.

Mark said: “This is an incredibly unfortunate situation that our family-run business has been targeted.

"We have worked so hard to build our business and sadly we’ve had to disappoint customers whose Boxing Day orders have been stolen.”

The Argus: The two thieves breaking inThe two thieves breaking in

“We’ve worked night and day to build the UK’s fastest-growing and highest-rated DJI drone store and to see that hard work tarnished in a matter of minutes is soul-destroying”

“We’re proud to say that despite this setback, the Drone Safe Store is still open for business and we look forward to serving you and doing what we do best!”

“I want to personally thank Drone Safe Register members during this troubling time for all the help and support they have offered to help track down these missing drones.”

“We are working with the manufacture to publish all of the products serial numbers and are urging the public to remain vigilant for any cheap DJI drones being offered.”

“We will be offering a substantial reward for any information that leads to the identification of and arrest of the two thieves spotted in the CCTV footage.”

Items stolen included DJI’s new Mavic 3 Cine Premium Combo, worth over £4000. As well as Mavic 3 Fly More Kits, individual Mavic 3’s and DJI Mini 2’s.

His son, Tom, who is manager of Drone Safe Store, encouraged anyone to report suspicious sellers on Facebook Marketplace.

He said: “It’s soul-destroying to see what has happened. Doing this to a family run business at Christmas time is despicable.”

“We’ve tried so hard in the past 18 months to educate the general public on the benefits of drones and the legalities of drone flying. So despite this setback, we will continue to be open for business as Chichester’s local drone specialists.”

“Stolen goods are often sold via Facebook Marketplace, we’re urging everyone to stay vigilant. These drones are worth thousands of pounds each and could be found anywhere in the country by now!”

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