January 3, 1977

LOCAL thieves did their Christmas shopping late this year - when all the shops and factories were on holiday.

But burglars who broke into P Spencer & Sons, Arthur Street, Redditch, had a wasted time.

After man-handling a safe out of a window, carrying it away and breaking the back off, they found it was empty.

A more successful night's work was had by the thieves who entered the Hewell Road factory of Renown Springs Ltd.

They escaped with toolmaker's tools worth £200 after breaking into the factory some time between December 24 and January 4.

Garages on Mount Pleasant were broken into by thieves over the Christmas period. They took a large number of spanners worth £10.

Thieves wanting to start the new year with money in their pockets escaped with £47.61 cash from Tyre Sales in Redditch.