Luke Gillam, manager of East Quay restaurant in Whitstable, with sauce bottles from a safe bungling thieves tried to steal

by Sian Napier

Bungling thieves smashed a hole in the side of a Whitstable restaurant to swipe two safes - but one was empty and the other full of vinegar and tomato sauce.

During the ham-fisted raid at the East Quay, one of the heavy antique safes fell onto the end of a stolen getaway lorry - forcing thieves to abandon it on the beach.

It happened in the early hours of Tuesday when they took the lorry, belonging to Seasalter Shellfish Company, and drove it to Whitstable harbour and out onto the beach by the East Quay restaurant, owned by James Green from Whitstable Oyster Fishery Company.

They cut a hole through the first floor of the listed building and attached the lorry's winch to the safes and pulled them through the wall.

Thieves tried to steal these safes from a Whitstable restaurant - but one was empty and the other only contained sauce bottles

The first, which was empty, was left lying on the beach, but when they dragged out the second - containing nothing but vinegar and ketchup bottles - it fell onto the back of the lorry.

Restaurant manager Luke Gillam said: "The lorry was hot-wired and driven out here, where the thieves ripped a hole in the wall and winched out the safes.

"They are very old and extremely heavy and were left in the upstairs dining area because they were too difficult to move. They are always left open because one never has anything in it and the other we use to store bottles of vinegar and ketchup for the restaurant."

Bottles of ketchup and vinegar were all that were inside a safe thieves tried to steal from a Whitstable restaurant

The thieves abandoned the lorry and fled. Police were alerted after the damage was seen by an early-morning dog walker.

Mr Gillam said: "I couldn't believe it when I turned up for work on Tuesday and saw all the damage. One of the safes fell on the lorry's rear axle and I think that was why they couldn't drive it away and left it there.

"The safes can't be seen from outside so the thieves must have known they were there, but since they are always left open I can't imagine what they thought they'd get away with.

"We'll get the safes back in the building somehow, but I think they will probably stay downstairs now."

Thieves dumped the lorry used to ram a Whitstable restaurant to swipe two safes

The East Quay restaurant is housed in the former Seasalter Shellfish Company building.

Its lorry was recovered from the beach by a breakdown company.

Kent Police spokesman Jane Walker said anyone with information about the raid should phone 101, quoting reference number ZY/24128.