A BURGLARY at an e-cigarette shop was foiled when intruders were repelled by the store’s fog security system.
Two men used a hammer to break in to Totally Wicked E-cigarettes and E-liquids on South Coast Road, Peacehaven, in the early hours of Sunday morning.
But the pair left empty handed after the shop’s security mechanism showered them in a plume of smoke – made from the same chemical used in e-cigarettes.
Before the smoke set in, owner Daniel Jenkinson captured a few seconds of video as the pair were breaking in.
The video shows one man acting as a lookout while the other, wearing a motorcycle helmet, struck the armoured glass window with a club hammer.
Footage of the aftermath shows fog pouring out of the shop door as the alarm sounds.
Mr Jenkinson had been planning the deterrent for months.
He said: “People love trying to break into our stores. This time, we had a surprise waiting for them.
“I got a call from the security company at 1.56am. I could hear the alarm going off in the background.
“I called the police and when I got down the place was completely filled up with smoke.
“No-one could tell what was going on.
“I went in just afterwards and I was so disorientated I couldn’t find my way out.
“They left without stealing a thing – there was no way they could have.”
He said: “The system was so effective. We’re the only place around here with security like this.
“The smoke’s made out of the same stuff as in an e-cigarette: propylene glycol.
“It wasn’t flavoured or anything, but it did the job.”
Mr Jenkinson installed the defence after a series of burglaries at his other shop in Seaford.
He said: “We were burgled twice in two days – and then four times in seven months.
“So I decided to do something about it. We upped our security. The zero-vision smoke costs £40 a month and it’s the perfect deterrent.”
The security device is triggered remotely by an alarm company and shoots odourless gas from a box near the front door.
Technicians arrived to refit the gadget on Monday morning.
The security package also includes a panic alarm and CCTV fitted with speakers that warn burglars they are on camera.
Mr Jenkinson said: “It worked so well.
“What better way for an e-cigarette shop to scare off intruders than smoke?”
Police said: “We turned up as soon as we could and there were signs of a break-in.”
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