Okehampton shop owner Nicola Bentley-Lovell, has been forced to shut shop temporarily following a spate of thefts and anti-social behaviour over the past four years.

Mrs Bentley-Lovell, who owns the shop NBL Antiques, has temporarily closed her shop after a series of distressing incidents including the theft of £5,000 worth of gold rings.

She has also been the victim of verbal abuse and witnessed a man defecating on her shop window.

She said: ‘I have worked extremely hard all my adult life; my shop is my livelihood, not a hobby, collection or fad. It is how I pay my bills and supports my family, so when someone steals from it, it takes money from me directly. I have no stock insurance due to the astronomical costs. So every time I get broken into or robbed I personally take the hit financially every time.

‘I have owned my shop some twelve years now and over those years I have suffered three break-ins, 14 shoplifters, been harrassed over a two month period by a very intimidating man and seen a man who thinks it’s acceptable to actually defecate on my shop window.

‘It’s demoralised me so much I had to walk away from my shop and the situation, so I decided to close it while I consider my options and to decide whether to resume trade or just sell up.’

Mrs Bentley-Lovell has informed the police and they are currently investigating though Mrs Bentley-Lovell is worried that they have made little progress as no one has been charged.

However, the police have confirmed that they are continuing their investigations into the incident.

Inspector for police in the West Devon area Chris Conway, said: ‘From a police perspective, we can say that the investigation is ongoing.

‘We suspect that the offenders may be travelling around the country committing similar crimes and we’re working with other forces across the country and trying to establish where these crimes have been committed and any patterns of behaviour.’