A POPULAR restaurant has become the fourth Greenock business to be targeted in a spate of break-ins.

The 134 Steakhouse on Cathcart Street was ransacked by thieves in an early hours raid after a brick was hurled through a window of the venue's private function suite to gain access.

Distraught restaurant owner Laura Esler says £500 was stolen from the till along with a 'significant' sum of money held in three charity collection tins - one for Ardgowan Hospice, one for a children's charity and the other for a kidney charity.

The thieves also managed to drag the premises safe into the private suite before unsuccessfully trying to get it out of the broken window.

Laura said the damage to the window will cost a lot of money to repair due to the special type of glass needed for that part of the building, which is listed.

The break-in is the latest in a spree in the area in recent weeks, with Cafe Gray, John's Joint and Inverclyde Navy Club all targeted too.

Laura said: "The police said it's exactly the same kind of attack as the others.

"It seems like they've done things in the same way, going for the charity tins and the till.

"We're not exactly out of the way here and the window is visible so it must have been really quiet.

"They shoved everything from the till in a black bin bag, even the paperwork.

"I'm just so thankful that no one was hurt and so relieved that they didn't get the safe.

Laura was notified of the break-in via the restaurant's alarm system when it activated at around 1am on Friday.

She was at the premises within 15 minutes and when she found the smashed window, she immediately called the police.

Laura said officers managed to get clear fingerprints so she's hopeful that the thieves will be caught.

She said officers admitted that these crimes could keep happening until the thieves are caught.

She and her colleagues will now have to pick up the pieces from the incident at what is already a tough time in the hospitality industry.

Laura said: "We do a lot for charity and we're a big part of the community.

"We've just been working away, keeping the business going, and then this happens.

"It's horrible."