A BOUTIQUE business owner says she is losing sales after her top selling dresses and jewellery were stolen.

Linda Johnson, owner of Beretun Designs in Bond Street, Brighton, said she was devastated as she had poured her heart and soul into designing the items.

Thieves stole a handmade necklace which cost £450, a hand painted dress which cost £350, and a designer wedding dress valued at £899. Ms Johnson said: “It has upset me more than they could ever know.

“The people who are responsible will never realise how much it has hurt me, I cried my eyes out.

“Each item took me hours to complete. I feel like they have taken a piece of me. The necklace was one of my artwork pieces and it was my favourite.

“It’s only a display item for customers, and they can request a similar design. The necklace is always unique and I can’t remake another one. I used vintage beads and hand stitched lace from the 1950s which can’t be replaced, it took about 45 hours to complete.

“The hand painted dress was my original and I have made several other versions for customers. It has little crystals, and it took me about 20 hours to complete. The ivory wedding dress is my design, we didn’t make it in the shop but from a factory.”

Ms Johnson said the two dresses were her best sellers as they generate thousands of pounds worth of sales. She said: “The dresses were display only and customers can request them to be made. Without the dresses, I have nothing to show customers. The wedding dress will take 16 weeks to be replaced. I am gutted it was stolen, but I’m also using the bad luck as a positive as I am amending the design to be a better version.

“I’m not sure how the dresses were stolen. I was told by security guards the thieves may have put a bag underneath the dresses, knocked the hangers into the bag and walked off. There were many people in the shop that day. There was a football game happening, and wives came to my shop while waiting for their husbands.

“We only had two staff members. If the shop is packed it’s difficult to keep tabs on everyone. We are now installing CCTV.”

A Sussex Police spokeswoman said: “Police received a report of a wedding dress, dress and a necklace being stolen from Beretun Designs in Bond Street, Brighton.

“The theft is believed to have taken place between 3pm and 5pm on Saturday, September 1. If anyone noticed anyone acting suspiciously in this shop or in the area please report this information to us either online or by calling 101 quoting 414 of 02/09.”