York: That Place piercing shop in Colliergate broken into

And police say those responsible remain at large.

Brett Turner is the owner of That Place body piercing shop in Colliergate.

He told The Press that at around 4.30am on Sunday morning (October 29) the shop’s front door was kicked off its hinges and a masked figure was captured inside on CCTV.

Brett Turner, owner of That Place (Image: Dylan Connell)

Brett said the business is cashless - relying solely on card payments – and a no valuables are kept in the shop overnight.

Given this, there was no money or expensive goods inside to steal inside.

The owner said the thieves tried to steal equipment instead but all they made off with was his hat that had been left on the windowsill because it doesn’t fit him.

 “They cost a grand’s worth of damage for an £8.50 hat,” said Brett.

The shop's door after the break in (Image: Brett Turner)

The owner said he was first informed about the damage by one of the shop's employees who received a message saying the door was “completely off”.

Brett then phoned the police and hurried to the shop to find the door through its frame badly damaged.

“I just felt sick,” he said.

The damaged door (Image: Brett Turner)

The owner explained that the cost of repairing the damage is around £1,000 which he would be covering rather than claiming on insurance.

A jar has been placed on the shop’s counter collecting money towards the new door.

“We’re hoping people just come in for piercings,” said Brett.

The collection jar on the shop's counter (Image: Brett Turner)

“I’d rather just get a lot more piercings or people brought their Christmas piercings forward."

Brett opened the piercing studio in March in the former Hop O'Clock beer shop. 

Since then he said the shop has been “really busy” and attracted a large following on social media.

Brett said this was the first time he had experienced crime at the shop.

That Place after the shop opened (Image: Supplied)

“It’s going really well, it’s not something we expected to happen,” he said.

“It’s sickening more than anything.

“I’ve put all my time, money and effort into this.”

Brett opened the studio having worked in other people's salons for 15 years.

“I’ve been planning it for years,” he said.

“This is my happy place and someone tried to ruin it.”

Brett said he is now looking to install shutters in the shop's window as an additional security measure.

North Yorkshire Police says the force is investigating the break in.

A force spokesperson said: “The investigation is ongoing, no arrests have been made at this stage.

"Anyone with information should contact North Yorkshire Police on 101 and pass information for incident 12230205579."