Thieves hit pub yet again

Two intruders smashed a glass door to access The Carriers Hotel on Wednesday night, the venue’s second break-in for the week.

About $300 worth of alcohol was also taken from the hotel early on Monday when a lone thief entered through a South Street window.

Licensee Cate Nightingale said the pub’s drive-through bottle shop had also been targeted in recent years.

“I put it down to the young ones and their attitude — they think they’re owed something,” she said.

Mrs Nightingale said the hotel’s security was tight and included a CCTV system, footage from which has been handed to police still investigating Monday’s break-in.

“We’ve got alarm systems and we’ve got patrols as well,” she said.

“The only other thing we can do is put bars on the doors and windows and I refuse to do that.

“We’re not a jail, we’re a family hotel.”

Mrs Nightingale said it was frustrating to learn from police Wednesday’s alleged intruders had been just 15.

“It just makes me angry,” she said.

“I could understand if they were stealing clothing or food but to steal alcohol at 15, that to me is pretty desperate.

“If they were that hard up, all they had to do was ask and I would have given them a soft drink and some food.”

Mrs Nightingale said about eight bottles of liquor had been stolen from the hotel during the week’s two burglaries, some of which were recovered intact on Wednesday night.

The security alarm was activated on both occasions and allowed police to quickly catch up with Wednesday’s alleged thieves and recover their share of the loot.

Three 15-year-olds have been charged over that break-in; two face burglary and theft charges in a Victorian children’s court, while the third has been charged with handling stolen goods.

Mrs Nightingale said it had cost $282 to replace the door and she expected to lay out a further $180 to have the signwriting applied to the new glass.

The licensee said she would be left be out of pocket from the damage — she did not think it was worth claiming insurance.