Ram raids prompt Hammer move

Storage company Hammer Distribution will move from its Basingstoke office following three ram-raid attempts. The distributor will relocate to larger offices, still in the Basingstoke area, this autumn. Paul Sangster, Hammer Distribution sales and marketing director, said a sense of urgency surrounded the move. "After last month’s ram raiding attempt, the third in nine months, the move could not come soon enough," he said. "The thieves did not steal anything this time as unexpected security, cages and 24-hour guards were introduced after losing £170,000 of stock in the December 1998 attack." Hammer will leave its industrial estate, which it shares with many other IT companies including IBM and Computer 2000. Sangster said the company needed more stock and space anyway, and had decided to move a few months ago. "But the recent theft attempts have only prompted us to action the plan." Last year Hammer was targeted by thieves twice, losing £170,000 in stock. Last month’s attack saw a 7.5 ton stolen truck smash into the company’s warehouse, demolishing a wall.®