THE owner of a popular town centre bar has vowed to keep his business open after a break in.

A thief broke into The Vault, in Darwen, yesterday morning and ransacked the tills, as well as stealing several bottles of spirits.

The thief also stole an Ipad, a red HP laptop, a tip jar and damaged a slot machine.

Police said the thief got inside the bar through an upstairs window.

Keyvan Fani, owner of the bar, which sits on the corner of Borough Road and Green Street, said the thief had caused a lot of damage during the break-in.

He said: "I'm angry because why has this person thought they could break in and take what they want.

"They've damaged a door, they've damaged a slot machine, it is going to cost a lot to repair.

"I think there's around a couple of thousand pounds worth of damage and theft here.

"We've all got to work hard now to open the bar on Thursday, we will do out best to get everything sorted and carry on.

"We are devastated because we have only been open from December and we are still paying off bills, this means we are going to be put back even further now.

"We will be putting more security in place and look to make the bar as secure as possible."

A Facebook post from the bar said it is offering a reward for any information leading to a conviction.

Mr Fani said: "The laptop had all our monthly meetings and other bits on, so that's going to impact us as well.

"We are appealing for people to support us and help us catch who was responsible.

"We'd appreciate anyone with information to come forward and speak to the police."

The former Victorian warehouse, which has housed a variety of trades in addition to being a slaughterhouse and most recently a tile warehouse, was bought by the Fani family last year.

A police spokesman said: "The incident took place between 4.40am and 6.25am on Monday.

"A single offender approached the bar and opened an upstairs window and got inside the building.

"Tills were taken, money was taken and spirits were taken.

"A tip jar was also stolen.

"There was around £1,000 worth of items taken.

"Anyone with information is asked to call the police on 101 and quote log number 0635."