A FLORIST was “devastated” when she discovered her shop in Prestonpans had been raided by thieves.

Tracey Brown, 50, was alerted to the recent break-in by a friend who lives in the town and noticed its shutters were up.

“She phoned me about the shutters being up and they shouldn’t have been,” said Tracey, who has run Flowers by Arrangement on High Street for the past eight years.

On checking, Tracey found that the thieves had gained entry by smashing a window in the front door sometime between 3.30pm on Saturday, January 19, and 3.30pm the next day.

“They had been in every corner of the shop,” she said.

Scissors were stolen along with items such as a phone, iPad, stock of chocolates, florists’ body warmers and £70 float. The till was also broken.

Tracey, who also has Flowers by Arrangement in Musselburgh, was forced to close the Prestonpans shop the following Monday to enable police to visit the premises, which needed cleaned up before opening again the next day.

She said: “We work really hard and then you get a day’s trade wiped from you.

“The shop has been in Prestonpans for eight years and is a good support for the community.

“A lot of my regular customers came in and said how sorry they were to hear what had happened, which was really nice of them.

“The shop is quite well-established, with people coming back again and again.”

Tracey added that when she went to the shop after the break-in she felt “frightened and devastated by it all”, highlighting the personal items used in her daily work which had been stolen.

“The team of girls work really hard to succeed,” she said.

Tracey, of Tranent, was full of praise for Police Scotland, saying: “The police were very, very good.

“They kept in contact with me and I felt quite looked after.”

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “Police are investigating following a break-in to a business in Prestonpans.

“The incident happened sometime between 3.30pm on January 19 and 3.30pm on January 20, at a shop on High Street. A two-figure sum of cash was stolen and inquiries are ongoing to identify those responsible.

“Anyone with information is asked to come forward via 101 and quote incident number 2376 of January 20.”