Local shop receives apology, 15 years after its sign was stolen

A shop owner has received an anonymous apology and £100 in cash for the theft of a temporary PVC banner – which was stolen 15 years ago.

The letter, sent by “a former foolish student”, was sent to the Exotica Foods supermarket in Swansea by a person who said they had stolen the sign after a night of drinking.

The letter reads: "Some 15 years ago as a student, following a night of drinking, I and another came across a temporary PVC banner hanging from your shop. For some reason we thought it would be funny to bring this home with us.

"As an older man, I now see that what seemed funny to us at the time, likely caused your shop some inconvenience. I would like to offer my apology and hope you will accept this compensation."

The envelope also contained £100 in £20 notes, as compensation for the theft.

The news story has been covered by news outlets including the BBC – but as of the date of writing, the identity of the former signage thief remains a mystery. One of the only clues is that the letter was postmarked in West Yorkshire.

Imran Ashraf, owner of Exotica Foods, said to the BBC: "I'd love to find out who it is, it would be quite funny. When I read it, it made me laugh. It's not the kind of thing you see, not the kind of thing that happens usually."

According to Ashraf, the stolen sign was being used temporarily for a year while the supermarket saved the thousands needed for a more permanent sign.

While the £100 received goes "nowhere near the cost” of replacing the temporary sign, which cost about £1,200 not including installation, Ashraf adds that the money will go towards a custom gazebo for outside his shop so that “we can start doing some cooking videos this summer".

Speaking to the BBC, Ashraf adds: "Obviously we were ticked off when it got taken, but it was properly secured up there with these ties, it was massive and heavy. So [we don’t know] how they took it down and got it home. It's like, fair play."