MARGARET’S Rustic Tea Rooms at Northcott Mouth, close to Bude, has experienced an unusual array of burglaries recently, creating confusion and concern for owner, Margaret Frost.

On Wednesday, July 27, Margaret came to work in the morning to discover the contents of her fridge had been emptied, and the doors had been broken into.

A surprise visit the same day from celebrity tourist, Amanda Holden, took Margaret’s mind off the incident for the meantime.

However, she was shocked to come to the tea rooms once again on Saturday, July 30 to discover another burglary had taken place.

The popular lady was horrified to see the doors had been damaged when being broke in to, with a lot of her stock having been stolen during the nights of the Tuesday and Friday. Ham, egg mayonnaise, sweetcorn, bread, crisps, cans of drink and much more was stolen from the tea rooms.

Margaret, in her ever friendly and positive manner, jokingly told the Post: “It was obviously a man; he took white bread, he didn’t bother taking any brown bread, and he took lots of crisps and cans of drink.

“In all fairness, they didn’t do any damage to the inside, just to the doors when they were breaking in, which is a big nuisance. When I saw my tea rooms had been broken into, I felt very awful. I still feel awful.”

Margaret’s Rustic Tea Rooms has resided on the cliffs of Northcott Mouth for over 50 years, and Margaret puts her heart and soul into delivering delicious light lunches, as well as her famous cream teas.

Margaret lives in Bude, and since the burglaries, has worried for her tea rooms when she goes home in the evenings.

“My tea garden is my world, and I have the same customers coming every year. The thing is, he had no need to break in and steal the food. If he had just come to the door, I honestly would have fed him; I wouldn’t have turned him away.

“I feel very unsettled now. When I go home, I think to myself, ‘will they come back again?’ I often wonder if they’re breaking in whilst I’m at home.”

Bude Police have visited Margaret’s Rustic Tea Rooms to take a look at the damage and inconvenience caused.

Margaret hopes that the hungry burglar won’t stop by again.

She added: “At the end of the day, someone has broken in and it’s just really not a very nice thing to have happened.

“My friends and customers have been so kind and have helped me a lot, so I’d like to say a big thank you to all of them.”