BURGLARS swiped around £15,000 worth of designer stock from a new shop in Whitchurch.

Thieves stole 200 top-quality handbags and 60 pairs of shoes after breaking into Gladstone's in Church Street - the only shop in the UK to stock many of the distinctive items.

Shop bosses said the raid, which took place overnight on Thursday, left the shelves empty.

Owner Bill Judge, 59, from Whitchurch, discovered the break-in when he went to open up at 9am on Friday and found that the burglars had entered the building by forcing the back door.

They had cleared the shelves of goods, taken items from the stock room and had even stolen the shop's Dell laptop computer and BT cordless phone.

Gladstone's imports many of the shoes and handbags - some selling for up to £120 each - directly from Europe and has only been trading since December.

Shop manager Tracey Mason, 41, from Overton, said: "We used to sell antiques but changed to handbags and shoes a week before Christmas and spent a lot of money getting the business up and running.

"We even went abroad for the stock because we wanted it to be different.

"We have only just started and it's such a kick in the teeth. We're devastated and really angry that someone would do this to us.

"We're an independent retailer and it's hard to come back from something like this."

She added: "At first we were so demoralised and upset that we thought 'What's the point of carrying on?', but now we're more determined to continue trading and be even better."

Miss Mason said most of the stolen handbags are by the Greek company Thiros. Other bags are by Carbotti, and the shoes and boots are by the Italian companies GianRos and Fiorangelo.

She added that a "substantial" reward is on offer in return for information leading to the conviction of the burglars and the return of the goods.

Pc Richard Baldwin, of Whitchurch police, said: "I would say this was a targeted burglary as the offenders seemed to know what they were doing.

"They have taken the more expensive items and would have had to use a vehicle to remove this amount of goods."

He appealed for anyone who saw anything suspicious - particularly a van in the area in the early hours of Friday - to contact him. He is also keen to hear from anyone offered any of the stolen items.

Pc Baldwin can be contacted on 0845 045 4545.

Miss Mason said the shop would reopen for business as usual on Wednesday.