Manjimup Veterinary Clinic has been broken into for the fourth time since last April.

Drug addicts are suspected as the lock on a cabinet containingmedicines had once again been forced open.

Practice owner Sam Wright said it was frustrating because no cash or narcotics were kept on the premises.

‘‘Whoever is doing this is wasting their time as we don’t have anything here which would be of any use to anyone,’’ Ms Wright said.

‘‘In fact they took something called Acepromazine, which is an animal sedative and if it is misused it can actually kill a person.’’

The veterinary clinic was broken into through a front window sometime overnight on Tuesday, February 14.

It was the fourth break-in at the clinic in less than a year and has prompted Ms Wright to bolster her security with improved lighting and CCTV.

‘‘It’s cost me thousands since last April and it’s got to the point where my insurance premiums are going through the roof,’’ she said.

‘‘Furthermore, we have to check on the animals here overnight andwehave to bring dogs with us because we don’t feel safe anymore.

‘‘If I was in Perth then perhaps I’d expect these sorts of problems, but this is Manjimup, this is the country. I thought people were supposed to look out for each other here.

‘‘I’m sure I’m not the only business in town who’s experiencing this.’’

Manjimup police officer Sgt. Dave White said police were closing in on whoever was behind the break-ins.

‘‘We have some undesirable people here carrying out break-ins not only at night but also daytime,’’ Sgt. White said.

‘‘People need to be extra vigilant at the moment. It might pay to review your security systems and make sure valuable are insured.’’