A disabled children’s centre has been left picking up the pieces after thieves broke in and caused significant damage.
Thomley Activity Centre in Worminghall was targeted on Friday, leading to the centre being inundated with comments such as ‘what’s wrong with this world?’
Director Claire Acworth said: “Having caused significant damage to doors and cupboards looking for more valuable items, these un-Christmas spirited thieves found very little to steal and were clearly disappointed to find just children’s toys and play equipment.
“They caused a huge amount of mess through their thuggish approach using heavy objects to smash doors and glass.
“This break-in has not only put a dampener on our Christmas, but on Thomley Activity Centre’s 10th anniversary celebrations.
“It also took the wind out of our sails as our patron, BBC Radio 2’s Ken Bruce, won Celebrity Mastermind to raise funds for our charity just the following day.”
Ms Acworth describes Thomley as ‘a lifeline to families with disabled children as there are so few centres which understand the many challenges that face them’.
She described the would-be thieves as ‘heartless’, saying: “Although little was stolen, this break in has caused anger amongst Thomley staff and visitors about the heartless attack on such a small children’s charity.
She said: “We are however extremely grateful to all our supporters who have kindly offered to help clear up the mess or to replace stolen items.
“Most of the damage was to the fabric of the building and we are therefore not calling for donated goods.
“Being a small charity, we welcome any financial support, especially following such a tough economic year.”
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