Grinch thieves target Exeter Christmas market

An Exeter Christmas Market trader says she has suffered a "betrayal of trust and kindness" after £1,800 of jewellery was stolen from her stall. She says the items disappeared in the few seconds that her back was turned.

Zoe Hobson is among more than 100 traders who started selling at the market on Friday (November 15). Her stall Sozo Silver Designs offers upcycled jewellery and silverware, which are hand-stamped, usually with comical phrases.

She says a tray of 30 rings, worth around £1,800, were swiped from her stall right "under [her] nose" while she was serving a customer. It wasn't until the next day that Zoe realised the tray was missing.

She said: "I was serving a lady and didn't quite have the ring she wanted out front so I brought out a tray of about 30 others from the back and she purchased one from that tray.

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"In the few moments that I dealt with one customer to the next or bent down to get a gift box, they were just taken and I didn't notice. It was literally from under my nose and I didn't see it. It's about £1,800 worth of stock."

While the financial loss is a blow to the small, Devon-based business, Zoe says she is more hurt by the fact that she has lost the hours of work that went into making the products. In a Facebook post, she described the theft as "a betrayal of the trust and kindness we foster in our small business community."

"Of course it does hurt a small business but it's not really about that," she said. "To me, it's the time I go around sourcing all every single ring by hand and I've made them all and then I send them all off so they all get certified and they get a certificate."

Zoe still has the certificates for each item, which she has posted on social media, in the hopes of identifying them. She has also contacted silver scrap buyers and pawnbrokers so they can keep an eye out for the rings in case someone attempts to sell them on.

"I think if you hold hope anything's possible," she said. "I didn't think I would but the more I shared it and the more people that know, I just think it's going to be impossible for them to sell them individually because they all have my mark in them.

"They're all so unique and I've contacted all the local places in Exeter, Plymouth, Torquay that buy silver for scrap and pawnbrokers so it's going to be very difficult for them to sell."

Due to a lack of a retail store, Zoe says she is not covered by insurance. Police have been informed of the theft but, at this stage, say "there are no viable lines of enquiry".

A spokesperson for Devon & Cornwall Police said: "Police were called following a theft of a tray of silver rings from a stall at Exeter Christmas Market on the evening of Friday 15 November. It was believed the rings were stolen while the business owner was taking a transaction.

"At this time, there are no viable lines of enquiry however if further evidence comes to light the incident can be re-visited. Anybody with information can contact police on 101 or via our website quoting 50240290838."