Jacob Valentine devastated by £25,000 burglary from The Grain Company in Tilney All Saints

A 23-year-old business owner has been left devastated after a high-value theft left him £25,000 out of pocket.

Jacob Valentine was shocked to learn that The Grain Company, which he set up in Tilney All Saints in 2020, had been burgled last week.

His mother Fran has launched a GoFundMe appeal in an attempt to help Jacob, who is being forced to “start from scratch”.

Police were called on October 23 to reports of the burglary at the Station Road business.

“It’s believed thieves forced entry into the property overnight the night before and stole a number of tools including routers, saws and drills,” a Norfolk Police spokesperson said.

The equipment stolen was worth £25,000.

“It is devastating,” Jacob said.

“We work really hard for all of this. It has taken our livelihood away, pretty much, because we haven’t been able to get any work done since the event.”

The Grain Company produces handmade furniture, which is constructed to order and delivered throughout the area.

Jacob launched the business having always had a love of creating bespoke furniture. He was unable to study a relevant degree at university due to the pandemic, so took the jump into working life.

He employs a number of “local lads”, his mother said, while some of the tools which were stolen had been passed onto him by his grandfather, who died a few weeks ago.

“We were just getting to a more stable place, and that is when the break-in happened,” Jacob added.

“We are starting from scratch.

“The first thing was probably anger - I was just angry at the people who would do that to a small business.

“Then it was just thinking about how we can get past it.”

The GoFundMe appeal has raised around £800 for The Grain Company so far, leaving Jacob feeling “amazed” by people’s generosity.

“It is going to help us absolutely tons. It is a really nice feeling,” he added.

Police say their investigation is on-going, and anyone who may have any information can let officers know by calling 101 or via the Norfolk Police website quoting crime reference 36/75675/24.

Jacob said one officer told him it may be a struggle to find the burglars due to the nature of the crime.

The police spokesperson told the Lynn News: “Solving crime relies on gathering evidence and in more remote rural locations this can be more challenging due to the fact that there may be fewer witnesses and public CCTV cameras.

“There are also greater opportunities for criminals to target isolated properties and businesses.

“Burglary remains a priority and we have a variety of teams across the district focusing on these offences, as well resources dedicated to deterring and preventing rural crime.”