Staff at a pharmacy in Whalley have written an open letter after a type of painkiller was stolen on two occasions. It is thought that the same person may have been responsible for both break-ins.

In the space of four weeks, Whalley Pharmacy, on King Street was broken into twice. On both occasions co-codamol, a painkiller which contains paracetamol and codeine, was taken. It can be addictive if taken regularly for a long time.

The first break-in was on Christmas Eve. The front door was smashed and around £400 worth of perfume and £40 from a till was taken, along with co-codamol.

The second break-in was on January 27, when 10 to 15 packs of co-codamol were taken.

Whalley Pharmacy, on King Street, is displaying a letter in store addressed to the “co-codamol thief” urging them to “look at themselves in the mirror” and address possible addiction issues they might have.

The letter said: “You urgently need help as I am sure you are struggling with addiction. There is a lot of help available, come and speak to us or your GP.

"Can you please not break in again as it’s costing us a lot of money. This affects the whole village… if there are more crimes other people have to pay more on their insurance.

“I hope when you read this message you can look in the mirror and gather enough courage to help yourself. The whole village is cheering for you.”

Pharmacy superintendent Ashab Patel said the person who stole the painkillers “does not need to suffer with pain”.

He said: “Codeine based painkillers are very effective for one-off pain relief but when taken as a regular can lead to addiction.

“When someone has regular pain and needs to take this painkiller that often, they should really be seeing their GP to deal with the underlying cause of pain.

“It seems unusual for something like this to happen in Whalley.

“The second break-in, in January, was a similar style of break-in but this time they took approximately 10 to 15 packs of co-codamol only, so it's clear they are that desperate for it.

“They are not very expensive nor do they have value on the streets so it must be for themselves and they must really be struggling.

“They might not realise that there is so much help around so are taking desperate measures.

“We at Whalley Pharmacy decided to write them an open letter to raise awareness to say there is help and they don’t need to suffer with pain and we can help them.”

How to get help with drug addiction according to the NHS

According to the NHS, if you need treatment for drug addiction, you're entitled to NHS care in the same way as anyone else who has a health problem.

The NHS website says: “A GP can discuss your problems with you and get you into treatment.

“They may offer you treatment at the practice or refer you to your local drug service.

“If you're not comfortable talking to a GP, you can approach your local drug treatment service yourself.”

If you're having trouble finding the right sort of help, call the Frank drugs helpline on 0300 123 6600. They can talk you through all your options.

As well as the NHS, there are charities and private drug and alcohol treatment organisations, such as Adfam, that can help you.

Private drug treatment can be very expensive, but sometimes people get referrals through their local NHS.

If you have information about the break-ins call 101 quoting log reference: LC-20240127-0314