Thieves ransack cat charity shop and try to start blaze
A CHARITY shop in Swansea was broken into and ransacked by thieves who it is claimed tried to start a fire inside.
At around 9.20am on Monday, heartbroken volunteers at the Swansea and District branch of Cats Protection discovered that the front door of the charity shop on Brynymor Road in Brynmill had been broken into using a breeze block.
While inside, the thieves attempted to break open a safe, stole a tablet and allegedly attempted to start a blaze in the back room.
Volunteer manager Lisa Kenny explained how the entire charity shop had been ransacked by those who gained access.
She said: “I received a phone call yesterday morning. There’s a flat above the shop and the lady there reported that we had been broken into.
“When I got there, I saw they had taken a panel off the front door with a breeze block and come in.
“They haven’t taken a lot – not that there’s a lot to take from a charity shop.
“We found some paper lit in the back room – we don’t know if they were trying to start a fire.
“They took a Samsung tablet which is part of our till system, and they tried their hardest to get the safe out of the cupboard and break it open but they were unable to do it.
“It has been more inconvenient than anything – we’ve had to clean up the mess and we’re trying to get into the safe because that’s where our spare keys and spare change are.
“They had opened all the doors and been everywhere and pulled out things.
“The backroom floor was covered and it was a bit of a mess in the front where they’d pushed the door panel out.
“We cleared it out yesterday but it was just a bit of a shock. You don’t expect it in a charity shop. As far as I know, there has been a few break-ins in Brynymor Road recently.
“It would be nice if there was a better police presence.”
Ms Kenny said that the break-in will result in the charity having to pay expenses – money which could have been put to much better use.
She said: “We’re all volunteers in this shop. We do find it shocking, but we have to get on with it – we’re not going to let it stop us.
“We’re a cat rescue charity, there are lots of things that need to be done – home visits, fostering, neutering, kennels – there’s a lot of costs. These shops fund all that. We do not get anything from head office, it all comes from the shops.
“Head office are trying to track the tablet and will be helping out with a new safe.
“We had to close yesterday [Monday] as there was a bit of a shock and some tidying up to do, but we’re back open today [Tuesday]. We’ve had a lot of support from the local community.”
A spokeswoman for South Wales Police said: “South Wales Police was called just before 9.20am yesterday, Monday, May 16, following reports of a break-in at the Cats Protection charity shop on Brynymor Road, Brynmill.
“Officers are asking any members of the public who may seen anyone acting suspiciously around the premises over the weekend to get in touch by calling police on 101 and quoting reference 2200162403.”