Charity shops raided Break-ins ‘could be linked’
CALLOUS thieves raided two charity shops in the space of a few hours.
Volunteers at Windyway Trust, on Crompton Road, Macclesfield, were ‘disgusted’ when they saw vandals had broken into their shed and stole numerous items, including jewellery.
In the space of a few hours a thief ripped through the back door of East Cheshire Hospice’s charity shop, on Thornton Square, making off with hundreds in cash on Thursday, August 27.
Christine Earles has volunteered at Windyway for 13 years and told the Express she was ‘horrified’.
She said: “We can’t believe it. Everybody around here knows us and what we do here. We have been here for around six years and we have never been broken into before.
“They just trashed it, they took the lids off all of the boxes and nicked jewellery and watches.
“It was horrific. We just didn’t know where to start, that is how it felt. We were just completely overwhelmed by it all. I can’t believe that anybody would want to steal from a charity. It is disgusting.”
During the burglary at Thornton Square the thief ransacked the shelves before taking about £500 from the safe.
Rachel Allcock from East Cheshire Hospice was one of the first people to see the damage.
She told the Express she couldn’t believe that anyone would do this to a small charity which helps the Macclesfield community.
She said: “It is just unbelievable. We were all just gobsmacked because in our own little way we never though that anybody would steal from a charity.
“We were all just really, really shocked and upset.
“We don’t know the exact amount but we would get it is just over £500 that has gone. It is a lot of money, we are not a big retail shop.”
Rachel added: “We are such a vital service for the local community and when you go out and speak to people there is hardly anyone that doesn’t know someone who has been here.”
However, since the break-in, she said the charity’s army of volunteers have come to help clean the shop up, while others have been sending in their donations.
Both break-ins happened within hours of each other. The first, at Windyway took place between 12pm on Wednesday, August 22 and 4.40pm on Thursday, August 23.
The raid on the Thornton Square shop, happened at 3am on Thursday, August 27.
Police have launched an investigation and are not ruling out that both incidents are linked.
Detective Constable James Hewitt, of Macclesfield Local Policing Unit, said: “We’re keeping an open mind as to whether this burglary is linked to another one at a charity shop on Thursday.
“While our enquiries continue to identify those responsible I would encourage anyone who may have any information to come forward and call police on 101.”
The incident number for Windyway is 162785 and for East Cheshire Hospice theft it is 162785,
To donate to Windy Way visit https://www. justgiving.com/ fundraising/christineearles1