Moment thief uses 'hippy crack' canister to smash a vintage store's window before stealing £2,000 DJ decks

By JOSHUA HAINING, NEWS REPORTER Published: 22:39, 8 June 2026 | Updated: 22:51, 8 June 2026 The moment a thief on a bike used a 'hippy crack' canister to smash a vintage store's window before stealing music equipment worth £2000 has been caught on camera. CCTV footage showed a crook in a yellow beanie arrive at Bread and Butter Collections in Shoreditch at 4.30am on June 6 and break into the store. After failing to kick the door open, the thief used a 'hippy crack' canister to smash the shop window before leaning in to steal DJ decks and cables. The store's owner, Ben Whittle, who has slept in the store since it was last burgled 11 days ago, heard the commotion and rushed downstairs to find his store being raided again. He said: 'I heard glass being smashed and then ran downstairs half asleep. Then we were face to face so he knew that I was there at that point. 'The door was locked and the keys were upstairs so I sprinted back upstairs to get them to get out.  'By the time I got outside he was long gone. He just whizzed off with the decks,' he said.   'My mum was very happy that I wasn’t able to get out. You don’t really know what these people have got on them.’ The thief used a 'hippy crack' canister to smash the shop window and steal DJ decks worth £2000 Vintage store owner Ben Whittle who has slept in the store since the last burglary, heard the commotion and rushed downstairs tussled with the crook over the stolen gear Mr Whittle said it was very unlucky the decks were just small enough to fit through the shop window Footage also captured Mr Whittle pulling on a set of wires with the thief through the shop window, before he rode off with the decks.  He said: 'It is terrible luck that the decks were just small enough to fit through the smashed window.' 'There was also a carrier bag in the window so we provided him the perfect little getaway as well.' The burglary came 11 days after two thugs on bikes broke into the store and stole vintage clothes and bags with £6000 and days before he is set to open a new store on June 17. Mr Whittle claimed the thieves must have known each other after they both tried the same technique on the door. The 33-year-old is now getting quotes for shutters for the store which cost around two to three grand, but he said they aren’t sure where they are getting the money from.  'On top of the finances, it’s just very stressful just trying to focus and get into the flow of actually working and getting everything ready ahead of the launch,' he said. 'We’re really working every second of the day at the moment. Then it’s having to deal with this as well as having to sleep in the shop because I don't trust that it won’t happen again. I should be in bed you know, it's mental.' The police have yet to make any arrests for either of the burglaries at the London store.  A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said: 'Police are investigating two burglaries at a shop in Rivington Street, EC2A, which took place on Thursday, 28 May and Saturday, 6 June.  'Officers have attended the premises and spoken to owner of the business, recognising the impact of these incidents. 'Tackling retail crime and the repeat offenders who create fear for shop workers and harm communities continues to be a significant priority for the Met. 'No arrests have been made at this time and enquiries continue to locate those responsible.  Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to contact the Met Police by calling 101 and quoting reference 01/7655049/26.' No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.