Thieves started a fire in a Lloydspharmacy in East Sussex as they stole thousands of pounds worth of perfumes.

The intruders squirted a flammable liquid through the front door of the branch on Sedlescombe Road North in St Leonards-on-Sea “in the middle of the night” last week, said manager Abi Barker.

The pharmacy’s doormat was fire-retardant and the blaze was put out “within minutes”, but not before the thieves had raided the perfumes cabinet, Ms Barker told C+D.

Sussex Police said they were “on the scent” of three “men or boys” who were seen arriving at the premises on two motor scooters at around 4am on Friday (April 10). Officers who arrived on the scene had used a hand-held extinguisher to put out a “small fire” outside the main doors of the pharmacy, police said.

Ms Barker said the pharmacy had re-opened at around 12.30pm that day, but stressed that the damage from the fire “could have been a lot worse”. “There are people living in the flats adjacent to us, so it could have been awful,” she said.

Ms Barker added that the pharmacy was still counting the value of the goods stolen, but that it ran “into the thousands” of pounds.

Sussex Police said anyone who saw the suspects in the area at the time of the incident or who had any information should email [email protected] or call 101, quoting serial 126 of 10/04. Alternatively, they could talk anonymously to charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111, police added.

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