A THIEF has stolen a guitar from a shop in Dursley valued at £1,300.

The snatch and grab took place on Monday, June 16 at Intersound Guitars when the shoplifter poked his head through the door of the shop on Parsonage Street and grabbed the prized item at about 9.10am.

On the counter at the time was partner of the business Denver Thirlwell who heard somebody coming in while he was on the phone with a customer.

“I looked up and saw an arm and a shoulder come through the door and grab a guitar off the stand,” he said.

“I shouted at them and ran after them.”

When Mr Thirlwell, 55, got outside the store he was told the man, had ran up the lane between the Boots chemist and the Mind charity shop.

“By the time I got to the lane I saw him at the top of the hill and knew I was’t going to catch up with him so I ran back and called the police,” he said.

"The police were very good they were here within ten minutes."

The guitar stolen was an American-made mahogany CF Martin, model number 0015 and was on sale for £1,299.

Fellow partner Steve Smith from Cam said it was the first theft at the shop in 16 years and believed the mid-range guitar was specifically targeted.

“I am really hacked off that somebody would do that. It was just a bit of a shock really,” he said.

“The Martins are a very well-known brand. He targeted it knowing he had a market for it I imagine. It was in immaculate condition.

“If people are offered a guitar without a case or with non-matching case, they should be wary.”

The costly theft has meant the partners are now having to consider new security measures at the store as part of a reorganisation of the shop.

“We have never needed security before but we have had to put security clips on and will have to consider other options when we re-organise the shop soon,” said Mr Smith, 57.

“Dursley has always been quite relaxed from a shoplifting point of view. We vary rarely get problems with this.

“But now we’re going to be around £800 to £1,000 out of pocket, it’s going to be an expensive item to replace. I’m gutted.”

The offender was believed to be in his 20s, of stocky build, about 5ft 8ins tall and wearing three-quarter length shorts and a blue-grey t-shirt.

If you have any information, or have come into contact with a guitar of this kind for sale, call Gloucestershire Police on 101, quoting incident number 72 of June 16.