A 24-hour cake shed operated by the family business Mum Made Meals in Grantham, Lincolnshire, was the target of a theft captured on CCTV. The footage shows a young person, who had covered their face with a red T-shirt, entering the shed in the early hours of Monday morning. The individual proceeded to fill a bag with multiple items from the shelves, leaving them nearly empty.
After taking the goods, the thief made an obscene gesture at the security camera before leaving. Laura McCann, 34, one of the owners, stated that the value of the stolen treats was around £200. "I'm just shocked that this boy thought it was okay to come and raid our business," McCann said. "He knew he was being filmed too because he just flipped the bird at the camera like he was laughing at us. It's sickening."
Mum Made Meals operates on an honesty box system, with the shed open 24/7 to serve customers including night shift workers, police officers, and paramedics. However, the owners report that they are targeted by thieves almost weekly, with instances of fake money and theft occurring regularly. "We have always operated an honesty box policy and keep the shed open 24/7 because there is demand through the night," McCann explained. "I would say 99 percent of people are trustworthy and leave the right money but it's the small minority who abuse the system."
McCann added that while they don't report every theft, the brazen nature of this incident, including the gesture to the camera, prompted her to share the footage online. The video was shared on Facebook and garnered significant attention, leading to contact from the boy's parents. "The response online has been incredible and we were contacted by the boy's parents," McCann stated. "To be fair to them they have offered to pay for the food taken and want us to proceed with pressing charges with the police."
This incident follows a challenging period for the business, which was recently forced to close its kitchen due to a heatwave. Terri-Ann Lee, McCann's cousin, has initiated a GoFundMe campaign to help the business acquire more secure storage solutions, with the long-term goal of purchasing a vending machine, which could cost thousands of pounds. The campaign aims to mitigate the risk of theft and support the livelihood of the family business.
