Vandals have caused hundreds of pounds worth of damage at a popular seafront restaurant.
A storage unit at Riley's Fish Shack, King Edward's Bay, Tynemouth , was broken into on Saturday night and around 10 deck chairs were taken out and allegedly set on fire.
The chairs were worth around £500 and the incident took place towards the south end of the beach.
Staff discovered the damage on Easter Sunday morning and informed the police .
Riley's, which has become a huge favourite among diners and was included in the Good Food Guide's Best Restaurants in the North East 2019, is offering a £200 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the offenders.
Founder Adam Riley said: "Someone broke into our storage unit and set fire to around 10 deck chairs which were inside the unit. We think it may have happened around midnight.
"At the moment, I'm feeling quite angry. It's not nice to have your property broken into.
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"Who knows what goes through the minds of people who do things like this. Unfortunately for us, it's quite damaging to our business.
"I would urge anyone who has information about the incident to contact the police."
The news was also put on Facebook and scores of people told of their shock. Many described the culprits as "disgusting" and "shameful", and labelled them "mindless idiots".
One woman asked: "What kick do they get out of doing such rotten things?"
Another said: "This truly sickens me."
One message read: "It’s horrendous when low lives destroy other people’s property and damage business. Hope they get caught."
"What a disgrace", added another.
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