By Break-in at Hospice Donation Centre in Grimsby
Retail staff at St Andrew’s Hospice in Grimsby were shocked to find a break-in at the charity’s Donation Centre, near the Lockhill roundabout in the North East Lincolnshire town.
The Centre, which acts as a charity store, as well as the main donation drop-off point for other St Andrew’s and Andy’s retail stores, was broken into over the weekend.
“The front door of our Donation Centre in Grimsby was smashed sometime between 5.30pm on Saturday 27th April and 9.30am on Sunday 28th April,” said Tom Ryan, Head of Retail at St Andrew’s Hospice.
“Thieves tried stealing money from the till but this was empty, although they did take the Hospice collection box from the main counter in the Centre.
“This had an unspecified amount of cash inside, which would have helped provide some of the £15,000 of funds required daily to keep St Andrew’s services running.”
He continued: “The incident follows on from bin raids which are ongoing at the Donation Centre, as well as at our stores on Grimsby Road in Cleethorpes and Bradley Cross Roads in Grimsby.
“Regrettably, we were also subject to break-ins at our Louth and Gainsborough stores over the most recent festive period.”
Members of St Andrew’s Hospice retail staff team discovered the break-in when they went to open the store on the morning of Sunday 28th April. They were understandably shocked at the events.
“The news was reported to us on Sunday morning when members of our retail team went to open up the Donation Centre for Sunday trading,” said Tom.
“It has obviously had an impact on the team, who are all very dedicated to supporting the hospice, but they have shown great resilience in the wake of the events.
“The incident delayed our opening on Sunday, which also meant a loss of earnings to the hospice, subsequent repair costs, and the knock-on effect this has to the charity.”
If anyone has any information regarding the break-in at St Andrew’s Hospice Donation Centre in Grimsby, please contact Humberside Police on 101, quoting police log number 79/28.4.19.
The Hospice is also making a call-out for furniture donations to the Donation Centre, to help the retail department continue to support St Andrew’s in their fundraising efforts. Please telephone 01472 241972 if you can help.
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