A Byker man will appear before magistrates in Newcastle today, charged with a Christmas burglary spree that targeted six businesses in Jesmond.

It is alleged that Paul Kenny, 47 was responsible for the burglaries including break-ins at Country Whey delicatessen and Batch Bakery, which are both on Clayton Road.

The timing of the burglaries meant both businesses had to close over the Christmas period, seriously impacting their finances on top of the costs of the damage to the businesses and lost stock.

A man matching the description of the alleged burglar was captured on a specially installed CCTV system installed by Sue Gordon, the owner of Country Whey, which provided police with crucial evidence to help identify a suspect police believe may have been connected with the break-in, which smashed a large conservatory window.

She said: “I had the CCTV cameras specially installed for security because they said it would give a much better image, and by God, it does!

“It was worth the money and so it’s all in bright, full colour, even though it’s the middle of the night.

Gordon alleges that the man on the CCTV “ransacked the whole place and looked in every single cupboard. He opened every tin and bottle that was in sight. He left all the fridge doors open[and]  all the freezer doors open so even the stuff he didn’t take was ruined.

“Because he broke in at night everything in the fridges was open 24 hours later and you couldn’t touch anything because the police needed to fingerprint everything. It was just one hell of a mess to clear up.”

The burglary was a body blow, coming hard on the heels of problems caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and a quadrupling of energy prices.

Gordon explained: “We lost everything and things are literally on a knife edge. For us it’s basically like starting a business from scratch again at a time when we were already struggling in the first place.

“We lost the two best days before Christmas, the Friday, and the Saturday as we were shut because of the broken window and glass and having no stock. The suppliers obviously couldn’t deliver and we’re still not back up at full stock yet.

“I’ve had to apply for emergency funding because he took a cash float and everything that was there overnight for Christmas.”

GoFundMe pages have been set up for the two Clayton Road businesses to enable local residents to support Country Whey and Batch during this difficult time.

Nationally police have faced criticism over the number of offences over the Christmas period which go unsolved. Crime figures revealed by the Liberal Democrat party showed that there was a poor arrest rate on Christmas Day in 2019, 2020 and 2021. The figures showed that of the 1,182 Christmas Day burglaries reported, 899 were unsolved.

However, local police have been praised following the Jesmond burglaries. Neighbourhood Inspector Anita Morgan, of Northumbria Police, telling JesmondLocal: “In December, we were contacted by staff from a number of small businesses in and around Jesmond who had returned to work from a few days off over Christmas and sadly found they had been burgled.

“In some cases, sums of money up to £500 had been stolen, windows had been smashed, and items stolen from their stock rooms.

“Burglary is an intrusive crime for all victims, but it can be especially devastating for small businesses which is why we are committed to working with all our partners in the community to tackle this type of criminality.

“Thanks to the swift work of our teams, a suspect has been arrested, charged and will now face the courts.

“We are committed to tackling burglary and working with businesses and residents alike to help prevent these offences from taking place in the first place.”