A Gloucester barber is hopeful that a spate of break-ins to his dockside premises has come to an end after police caught unwanted night-time visitors red-handed.

Leigh Phillips, who has run Mode Men's Barber Shop from the former weighbridge house at Gloucester Docks since 2012, told Punchline-Gloucester.com of his horror as he watched a third break-in to his shop within seven days via CCTV at his home in Gloucester.

Leigh said: "It was sickening. After I had been broken into twice inside a week, I then ended up actually watching the third break-in live, while I was at home looking after the kids. My wife, Zuzana, was in shock that such a thing could happen."

He added: "What shocked me perhaps most was that, given where my business is and all the night-time retail activity there, you would think someone might notice activity at an obvious closed barber's shop."

Leigh added that his anxiety had been heightened given the aftermath of the previous break-ins: as well as an untidy search and the theft of petty cash, the intruders had used the shop's loo – with no attempt to flush the evidence.

However, when Leigh dialled 999 it was a case of third time unlucky for the two intruders who were apprehended at the scene.

"It was just fortunate that there were officers just a few metres away on patrol. They spotted the unusual activity and managed to make arrests," Leigh explained.

Further to their arrest in January, Gloucestershire police told Punchline-Gloucester.com that two youths were subsequently charged. A 17-year-old male was given an eight-month youth rehabilitation order and a 40-day activity requirement, as well as a four-month overnight curfew, exclusion from Gloucester for four months and a £100 fine.

In a subsequent prosecution, a 15-year-old youth received a 15-month youth rehabilitation order with a supervision requirement, 40 hours' of unpaid work, and a four-month night-time curfew. Compensation of £100 for the victim was also ordered to be paid by each of the youths.