A DEVASTATED business owner is tempted to “pack it all in” after crooks trashed a popular town skating rink for the second time in a year.

Chris Scutt, of Stour Close, Dovercourt, runs Dovercourt Skating Rink with his wife Jen, and works hard to put on regular community events for the town.

He was heartbroken to discover the rink had been ransacked, with crooks ripping CCTV cameras from walls and ceilings, smashing through the front door and stripping the building bare.

Mr Scutt will have to fork out thousands of pounds to replace stolen stock and repair the extensive damage.

The break-in happened in the early hours of yesterday at the rink in Lower Marine Parade.

In March, Mr and Mrs Scutt were forced to leave hospital immediately after the birth of their stillborn son to deal with a similar attack.

They had to deal with damage and replace stolen items, all while grieving for their lost little boy, Beau Sterling.

In the wake of the most recent break-in, Mr Scutt said he felt they would struggle to carry on running the business.

Mr Scutt said: “It is a complete and utter mess. They have taken £150 in cash, CCTV cameras and system, worth £500, and 20 pairs of skates worth around £100 each.

“The doors have been damaged beyond repair. They even took all the ice-cream worth around £180.

“At the moment, I feel on the edge of giving up.

“We try our best.

"We have recently brought skate lessons to the rink for free, we try to do all these different things for the community and this is how we are repaid.”

Mr Scutt has recently partnered up with Ipswich Skating Club to provide the lessons and support ongoing development and regeneration at the rink David Nicholls, spokesman for the club, said he was gutted to learn of the break-in.

“If we can do anything to help Chris and the rink, we will,” he said.

“I really feel for him, I know he organises all sorts of different events for the town and doesn’t get much help.

“The lessons have grown in popularity since we started them and they’re going very well.”

Anyone with information about the incident should call Essex Police on 101.