Police are reassuring the public about crime in Guiseley after the announcement a jewellers is to close after being raided 23 times.

Lump hammers and pickaxes have been used to smash windows at NG Bolton, and staff have been threatened with sawn-off shotguns.

Now the owner Robert Bolton says the cumulative trauma of the attacks is one of a combination of circum-stances that has led to the decision to close the shop where his father started work as an apprentice in 1938.

But the public are being reassured about the level of crime in Guiseley by Chief Superintendent Dave Oldroyd, of the North West Leeds Division.

He said: “I have every sympathy for the Bolton family, who due to the high value of the goods they trade in, have unfortunately been an attractive target for criminals over the years. It is unusual for one business to have suffered so many incidents.

“The traumatic impact that these offences have had both on the family and the business should not be underestimated.

“I would, however, like to reassure the Bolton family, and other business people in Guiseley, we take crimes of this nature very seriously and devote a significant amount of time and resources to investigating such offe-nces in an effort to catch those resp-onsible and prevent further crimes.”

He said he couldn’t talk specifically in detail about each of the offences described by Mr Bolton, and was unable to say whether there had been successes in arresting criminals who commit this type of offence.

But he added: “Guiseley is generally a very safe area, with significantly low levels of crime compared to other parts of the North West Leeds Division and the Leeds district. It is an area that enjoys a very healthy relat-ionship between the local neigh-bourhood policing team, the commu-nity and local businesses. This relat-ionship is at the heart of our approach to combating crime in the area.”

“Recent figures show that since the end of March, the number of robberies across the division has been reduced by more than 40 per cent compared to the same period last year.

“That said, there is never room for complacency, and we constantly review our processes and procedures to make sure we are doing everything we can to reduce the number of offences and keep our communities safe.”