A DEANE cake shop has temporarily closed to install extra security measures after a wave of robberies in the area.

Emma Waring, owner of Cake Delight in Deane Church Lane, said she wanted to protect staff.

Miss Waring, aged 37, who has owned the shop for two years, said: “We have definitely lost business but all the staff were worried.

“It is disappointing that we have been scared enough to close the shop but I thought it was not safe.

"I was going to have a staff member in on her own. I have young staff who work at the weekend and they were panicking after hearing what had happened.”

She said she would reopen the shop when safety measures, including a security buzzer on the door, have been installed.

She said: “I think the customers will feel reassured about what we are doing, as some people have been reluctant to go out. I want to make sure the staff are safe.”

Other business owners also spoke about their fears. Jayanti Valji, owner of Premier Stores, Wigan Road said: “I have been here for 26 years and never known anything like this in such a short space of time.

“I wasn’t supposed to be working but I did not feel comfortable leaving my wife on her own.

“Every time the door goes, you think: ‘This could be them’.

“We put our cameras up outside when we heard about the hair salon down the road.

“At first they were just targeting places with women working there but now they’re targeting places run by families.

“I’m not surprised Cake Delight is not opening, it is all women in there.”