A BUSINESSMAN is counting the cost after a former cycling shop in Dorchester was vandalised.

The window of the shop front on Great Western Road which used to be Dorchester Cycles has been damaged.

The premises is now owned by Andrew Summerfield of Warner Home Improvements, who is developing it into a home improvement showroom.

He believes yobs may have fired at the shop window using an air rifle or BB gun.

Dorset Echo:

A picture of the damage to the shop's window

Mr Summerfield said he discovered the criminal damage on Monday morning, but believes it was caused on Sunday night.

He said: “Basically it looks like the shop window was hit by either a ball bearing or an air gun pellet.

“There’s a bullet-sized hole in the pane of glass in the centre of the shop front.

“We think it happened on Sunday night, but we didn’t find out about it until Monday.

“We saw the article in the Echo about the criminal damage spree in Dorchester so we thought it might have been part of the same attack. It certainly looks that way.”

Mr Summerfield said his company took over the shop’s lease in October and have been developing it into the new home improvement show room ready to open in January or February.

He said: “It’s still being developed at the moment. It’s been empty a long time, so it’s not in the best state, but we want to breathe life back into it.

“It’s quite soul destroying to see something which you have put so much time and money behind get damaged. We’ve spent a lot of money on the premises, it’s quite upsetting really.”

Mr Summerfield says he reported the incident to Dorset Police who will be investigating the vandalism.