A trio of city centre restaurant break-ins overnight on Christmas Day are being linked and investigated by police.

Figbar and Salt, which are next door to each other in the Lanes' St John Maddermarket, suffered extensive damage and had equipment stolen after someone smashed through a back door overnight.

The Red Lion pub on Bishopgate was also targeted, with police being called early on Boxing Day.

A Norfolk police spokesperson said: "Police believe they are linked and are investigating them."

Jaime Garbutt, owner of Figbar and Salt restaurants, who discovered the damage on Boxing Day, said: "It's very upsetting. The past 18 months have been really difficult for small businesses with many fighting to survive.

"We were hoping to draw a line after a difficult past year so to come in and find this is really demoralising."

Figbar and Salt are currently closed for a Christmas break but the theft could affect their January reopening because of the need to replace stolen equipment and repair the damage.

We have contacted police for more.