STAFF at the United Service Station at Falls Creek know all about Shoalhaven’s rising crime rate.
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On Thursday morning a vehicle smashed through a wall of the service station, known as the Log Cabin, at about 4.15am.
Just three days earlier thieves broke in through the front of the building on the Princes Highway at Falls Creek.
It was the 20th time in two years the business had been targeted by thieves.
Manager Sonny Luthra said the damage estimate was about $20,000, with $1000 worth of stock destroyed or stolen.
“I got a phone call just after 4am and when I arrived and saw no damage out the front I thought it was just a false alarm.
“But then I went around the side and there was a hole the size of a car in the wall.”
The vehicle smashed an external wall and ended up inside a storage room full of stock.
Police Inspector Steve Johnson said apart from causing extensive damage to the building the offenders stole money and property from the premises.
“Detectives and forensics personnel had been to the site and are conducting enquiries. Police would like to speak to anyone with information about the offence,” he said.
Mr Luthra said they used to keep an ATM on the site, but removed it.
“We don’t leave any valuables here. Why can’t people leave us to do our work?” he said.
The services station is continuing to trade.