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Fourth vandalism attack leaves shop owner 'scared'

Alex Popein Northampton
News imageSimona Girininkaite A fridge in a shop, with red paint splattered on items. It is across bottles, and cans. Simona Girininkaite
The inside of the Euro Supermarket in Northampton was sprayed with paint on 17 July

A business owner whose shop has been vandalised with paint four times says the incidents have left her feeling "scared, frustrated and embarrassed".

Simona Girininkaite, 36, who has run Euro Supermarket, on St James Road, Northampton, for three years, said her business was first attacked with paint in June.

The latest incident took place at about 23:30 BST on Saturday when the outside of her shop had white paint thrown at it, along with another business opposite - and nearby paths and roads.

Northamptonshire Police has been approached for comment.

News imageSimona Girininkaite The inside of a supermarket, with three images put together, showing red paint on the floor, on items, food and drink. Simona Girininkaite
The vandalism has caused thousands of pounds worth of damage, the shop owner said

Girininkaite, who sells items from across Eastern Europe and the UK, said: "We've just been targeted [again], throwing the paint all over the shop.

"A couple of weeks ago they came inside the shop, they come wearing masks and spraying the paint."

She said she would not shut because she has "a family to feed" and she felt "scared, frustrated, embarrassed, because you don't know what you're going to do next".

"I don't know why they are targeting, me, my shop," she added.

News imageSimona Girininkaite The outside of a supermarket, showing different coloured paint on it. A cash machine is on the wall and the tiles are black. Simona Girininkaite
The outside of the supermarket has been damaged several times
News imageAlex Pope/BBC The outside of a supermarket, with black tiles on it, and paint on the ground. The large sign is green. A road leads down to the right. Alex Pope/BBC
The paint could be seen outside the shop on Tuesday

She said the biggest incident was when paint was sprayed inside the shop at about 17:00 on Thursday 16 July, which cost about £4,000 to clear up as wine, food and goods all had to be thrown out.

She said her insurance could cover the costs, but if she kept on claiming her fees would increase.

She appealed for the community to report anything suspicious to the police and "help us to find who did it and stop it".

News imageAlex Pope/BBC The outside of a shop front, with white paint on it. The shop front is most blue. There is a ladder up against the wall to the right and a door in the middle of the building. The walls are painted cream. Alex Pope/BBC
DIY Local Shop, on the corner of Althorp Street, was also vandalised with paint on Saturday night

Rufia Ashraf, Labour councillor for West Northamptonshire Council, said the incidents were "completely unacceptable".

She said the "unnecessary damage" meant business were being left to deal with the consequences and "deserved better".

"We all have a responsibility to look after our neighbourhood and stand together against vandalism," she said.

"Please don't ignore it, if you know something, report it."

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