THIEVES have targeted a Poundbury dentist in an overnight raid.

A laptop and small change was taken when Poundbury Dental Practice was broken into during the early hours of this morning.

Considerable damage was also inflicted on the property but practice manager Tim Warren has praised the way staff have responded and been able to offer their normal service today.

Mr Warren said the break-in was discovered by their cleaner early this morning, with the offenders having forced their way through a window and ripping an alarm off the wall before taking a Hewlett Packard laptop and a small amount of loose change.

He said no cash was kept on the premises overnight and fortunately patients’ medical records and their drugs stores had not been touched.

However, Mr Warren it had still been ‘upsetting’ for everyone at the practice and praised the way his team had responded to ensure no knock-on effects impacted on patients.

He said: “They have caused a lot of mess and some damage and it’s upsetting and inconvenient. “However, business continuity has not been affected and we have been able to see every patient we were meant to today.

“I think our staff have stepped up to the plate and worked that bit harder to get things going.”

Mr Warren, who believes the break-in occurred between 3am and 4am, praised the response of the police as well as South Coast Alarms and Poundbury Systems, which came into restore their telephone communications which had been cut by the offenders.

He said: “We are very grateful for the support we have had from our service providers and we are back in business.”

Inspector Steve Marsh, of Dorchester Police, said officers were investigating the break-in and urged anyone with information about the incident to get in touch.

He said it was the second incident in Poundbury in successive nights after thieves entered a works site by the Sunny Days Nursery on Wednesday night and broke into a secure storage facility.

They made off with power stools from the store.

Anybody with information is asked to contact Dorchester Police Station on 101.