Pub where police caused 'more damage than the burglars' after breaking in with battering ram receives £288 bill

Five officers responded to the potential burglary after spotting the smashed window, which was inset into the front door of Stanley's of Streatham, a gastro pub in south London.

But instead of reaching for the handle located inches away, the five officers instead opted to use a battering ram to enter the building.

Rapid Secure LTD, which works in partnership with police forces to perform emergency repairs following break-ins, has now sent a £288 invoice to the pub, documents show.

"No response from the police at all so far however I have just received this for boarding the window up….@SteveReedMP please help," the pub wrote after posting an image of the bill on X.

Read more: Pubs to stay open later and get protection from noise complaints in plans to ‘protect pavement pints’

Read more: Tommy Robinson flies out of UK as police investigate ‘assault’ at London railway station

It comes after the pub posted CCTV footage of the incident to social media last week.

"So this is just insane!!!" the pub wrote in the post.

The pub added: "On what planet do you gain entry to a burgled premises with a battering ram @metpolice_uk?

"The footage left many - including the pub, questioning why the officers couldn't have used the door.

"I simply lent through and unlatched the door!!!! Now I need a new door and window," the pub wrote on Instagram.It marks the second break-in in a week, with a similar image of a broken window posted by the pub seven days earlier.

"Same door different window, the little scrotum has done it again so we now need bars on the front windows. The police know who he is too," wrote the pub in another social media post.

Hours later, the boozer added footage of the suspect attempting to break-in to their social media page.

Responding to the footage, one social media user wrote: "I guess they did this in training. Shame 5 of them didn’t think to reach through and unlock?!"

Another user was seen to write: "Common sense is seriously lacking these days".

A third wrote: These people should get locked for much longer than they do when they catch them!"

LBC has approached the Metropolitan Police for comment.