A CAFE owner considered closing his business for good after it was ransacked by burglars two nights in a row.

Thieves targeted Char-Latte, in East Walk, Basildon, twice in the space of 24 hours.

Alan Real, 47, arrived at the coffee shop on Sunday morning to discover that raiders had smashed a window at the back of the shop and had climbed inside.

They left a trail of destruction behind, smashing open the till to steal a £200 float and emptying he contents of the cupboards and freezers.

They also stole laptops and the keys to a motorbike, kept inside a cupboard.

The persistent thieves returned the following night in a bid to steal the bike, this time pulling apart a boarded up skylight on the roof to get inside.

After a night of heavy rain, it left the shop badly water damaged.

Mr Real said: "We aren't open on Sundays but I came in anyway - there's always work to be done.

"I pulled up at the back and saw that the back window had been smashed and the door had been interfered with. I thought that idiots had just had a dig at the door but when I went inside the place was a complete mess.

"They had emptied out all the freezers and cupboards - I don't know what they were expecting to find in there."

Mr Real said he was devastated to return on Monday morning, after spending the previous day cleaning up the mess and talking to police, to discover Char-Latte had been targeted for the second time.

He told the Echo the break-ins left him contemplating the future of the business.

He added: "You try so hard with your work and these things happen and it just makes you so down and disheartened.

"It's getting to the point where I am thinking why do I bother?

"Me and my wife have had conversations about the fact that we are killing ourselves trying to make a living and then you get these things happen that just ruin it.

"It does make you look at things differently and think is it worth it anymore?

"We have considered shutting down but you just have that British spirit where you keep plodding on.

"We have had about one burglary a year but this has definitely been the worst."

Mr Real said the latest of the two burglaries marked the eighth time Char-Latte had been raided in his eight years in charge.

The break-ins took place a week after the Cancer Research charity shop and home furnishings shop Better Choice, both in Basildon town centre, were targeted by burglars.

No arrests have been made.

Essex Police is appealing for witnesses.

Anyone with information can call officers on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Crimestoppers can also be contacted via crimestoppers-uk.org.