Drug and alcohol misuse charity broken into causing damage worth £1,500

A drug and alcohol misuse charity shop has been broken into with the damage costing £1,500.

Hetty’s charity shop Donate and Dazzle on Huthwaite’s Main Street is believed to have been broken into on Sunday night as volunteers went to work there on Monday morning to find it had been turned over.

A laptop and an Amazon Kindle Fire were among the items stolen along with cash from the till and a collection box for a local injured boy.

Hetty's Donate & Dazzle shop in Huthwaite before the break-in

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Manager of Hetty’s Debbie Knowles said: “Some people broke in through a window which had security bars in place and they then continued to break other locked doors inside until they found what they were looking for.

“We’re trying to do good within the local community and we don’t deserve this; whoever has done this has stolen from all connected with the charity.

“Our volunteers found this to be a place of safety as they come to learn new skills and to engage with the community but this is now an awful situation.

“This has been a big learning curve and from now on no cash or computer equipment will be left on the premises.”

@Nottinghasm https://t.co/qz6malZmPT our lovely volunteer @ElizaAllsop is trying to help raise some funds to get the shop back on its feet,

— Hettys (@Hettys1996) September 27, 2016

One of the charity’s volunteers Helen Allsop has set up a Just Giving page for people to donate towards covering the cost of the damage as claiming back on insurance will be more expensive for the charity than paying for the damage themselves.

Debbie Knowles said: “The excess on our insurance is so high that it doesn’t cover the amount of cash stolen.

“It will cost the charity between £1,500 and £2,000 to put everything right because we’ll have to repair and replace things as well as then tighten up our security.

“People have heard about the damage and are appalled; so much so that one of our volunteers has set up a Just Giving page to help cover the cost of the damage.

“The thieves won’t have broken in quietly or quickly so we urge anyone with any information or who heard anything to come forward.”