Sadie Frost's shop is latest to be hit by ram-raid gang
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Ram-raiders stole thousands of pounds worth of clothing from Sadie Frost's new boutique yesterday in the latest in a string of attacks on designer stores.
Thieves on mopeds smashed into the clothes shop in the early hours of the morning, grabbing more than £10,000 worth of items from the autumn/winter collection. Ms Frost and the designer Jemima French, who opened FrostFrench in Camden Passage, Islington, only two weeks ago, were said to be upset but sanguine about the raid.
"The door was completely battered. There was glass and wood everywhere. But we managed to get the store up and running by lunch time," said the assistant manager, Leigh Anne Radbourne, who found a scene of devastation when she arrived to open the shop yesterday morning.
Ms Radbourne said that a shopkeeper living opposite had seen the thieves and called the police. Two other businesses in the passage were also burgled.
"They literally smashed and grabbed things close to the doors, so it could have been a lot worse," said Ms Radbourne.
"Sadie and Jemima are upset but will not let it get them down. They have been in today to check that we are all OK. They have got good business heads on them and know it is not the end of the world," .
Within the last two weeks, tens of thousands of pounds worth of handbags and designerwear has been stolen from a string of London shops. Thieves raided Luella Bartley's new store, Larizia in St John's Wood, the Marc Jacobs shop in Mayfair and the Brora Cashmere store in Marylebone.
The assistant manager added: "We are assuming they are the same people who attacked the other shops. The police have taken our CCTV footage. It should put an end to their little ram-raiding spree."
Ms Frost and Ms French, who have been friends since they were 15, decided eight years ago to go into the fashion business together. The new shop was opened in a celebrity launch on 20 September. Ms Frost, 42, the ex-wife of the actor Jude Law, described the store as a "dream come true".
The three-room boutique sells a classical yet pop-infused collection with prices ranging from £50 to £250.