Thieves smashed through the door of a café on Bridge Street before running away with a safe storing the business' cash and credit card at 7am on Tuesday. 

Louise Underwood, 49, turned up to her café, Coffee at 26, at 8.30am on Tuesday to find the café's back door had been "booted in", the alarm going off, and the safe gone. 

"The cupboard on the wall had been bashed off, it was everywhere - all over the floor. That was where the safe was. They had smashed the cupboard up to get it out," said Ms Underwood.

On the CCTV footage the men can be seen kicking the door through with the back of their heels. They smashed through the inner panel of the door, leaving the outer frame still attached.

"The door was still locked but you could walk straight through it," said Ms Underwood. 

Gwent Police said officers have been to the café and enquiries are ongoing.

Ms Underwood said she was panicking when she climbed up the stairs to get into the café itself. 

She said: "[I was] so frightened that it would be all smashed up in our lovely shop."

Ms Underwood is not sure how much cash was in the safe that was taken, but the thieves also stole the café's credit card from the safe. They made two purchases at Pill mini market, one for £45 and one for £25. 

The café is insured but the insurance excess is £500 and the cost of replacing the door with a more secure design will cost over £2,000. The café will also need to get a new safe and a new cupboard. 

Ms Underwood, who opened Coffee at 26 in July 2023, was very upset and frightened by the event and questioned why anyone would do such a thing. 

She said it was worrying that the thieves knew to go around the back to get to the safe. 

Rachel Philips, who owns R J Phillips Interiors, seven doors along from Coffee at 26, also had CCTV footage of the men on the morning of the break in. 

Ms Philips, 48, was in her shop at 6.59am when the three men tried to break into her van outside her own shop. Three minutes later, they kicked down the door of Coffee at 26. 

Gwent police said: "We received a report of a burglary at a commercial address on Bridge Street, Newport, on Tuesday 22 October.

"Three unknown men are believed to have forced entry to the building and taken a safe from the wall sometime between 6pm on Monday 21 October and 8.30am on Tuesday 22 October.

"Anyone with information, including relevant CCTV footage, can contact us via the website, call 101 or DM us on social media, quoting log reference 2400351420.

"You can also call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111, with details."