A restaurant has come under attack from vandals for the fourth time since it opened in May.

Last month, the Times Series reported how Bluebelles of Portobello, in The Broadway, Mill Hill, had been targeted by vandals who covered it in litres of ketchup and left rubbish strewn about the street outside.

Vandals returned once again in the early hours of Sunday, August 23 and left piles of rubbish scattered outside the restaurant’s front door.

Owner Johnny Krantz, who was away on holiday in Turkey at the time, heard about the attack from his chef, who discovered it on Sunday morning and was left to clean it up.

Mr Krantz said: “I am still trying to work it out myself. I came back to my phone and the chef sent me two photos. There was a huge amount of rubbish.

“The man who discovered it, he has to work a lot of hours and days at the moment. He was really upset, he feels he is putting so much hard work in, and somebody has some form of malice. To turn up for a shift and have to deal with this rubbish is not nice. It is also costly because it means we cannot open on time.”

The 34-year-old added: “It seems quite an odd thing. On one hand, I can stay humorous about it but maybe I have lost it this time. It is not affecting my longer term plan for my business, it is just a really petty nuisance.

“What we do know is it was placed there before our bakery delivers. Whoever is responsible has acted at similar kind of hours.”

The incident has been reported to the police, who are also investigating earlier attacks on the shop.

Mr Krantz, who lives in Finchley, added: “We want to put the message out that our main focus is giving the best service and experience we can, and we strive to improve. We do not want to let this affect us.

“This is a small blip on the long term plan, it won’t perturb us. But it is an extraordinary situation to be in.”