A CHEEKY thief broke into a market hall twice in five days to steal more than 30 mobile phones valued at £3,500.

The bike-riding burglar, targeted the same shop twice, gained access to the premises without forcing security grilles in the early hours of Saturday and early yesterday.

He twice broke the front window of ‘Intelligent Connections’ on Colne Market taking more than 30 high-end phones on the first occasion and more brand new ones and a laptop on the second.

The ‘sophisticated’ nature of the burglary has alarmed stallholders and Pendle council leader, Cllr Mohammed Iqbal, has ordered an immediate inquiry into the security breach at the hall on Market Street.

Naveed Anjum, the owner of Intelligent Connections, from Nelson, said: “I have had the shop for eight years and never been burgled.

“I was targeted as I am at the front of the market and because of the value of the phones.

“It is a cheeky thief to come back twice in five days and we have CCTV of him riding his bike around the hall.

“He appears to have got through the security grilles on the doors at the front without forcing them, suggesting he has keys, a copy of them or a sophisticated way for getting in.

“The thief has taken about 30 phones including Samsung F6 Edges, Samsung F8s and F8 plus devices as well as my Dell Latitude laptop.”

Neighbour Sophie Hodgkinson from ‘Beautiful You’, who has put images from Mr Anjum’s CCTV on Facebook, said: “We are all a worried about the way he got into the market hall. It seems quite sophisticated.”

She and Mr Anjum said the man was on a ‘distinctive’ black push bike with white trims wearing a grey or khaki coat, Nike trainers with a rucksack and drawstring bag.

Cllr Iqbal said: “I am alarmed and disturbed about how this burglar got into the secure market hall without forcing the grilles. I have ordered an immediate investigation.”

A police spokesman appealed for anyone with information to call 101.