Charity shops hit by thieves

CHARITIES are counting the cost after a spate of break-ins that have seen three Stockport shops fall victim to ‘despicable’ thieves in less than a week.

The latest good cause to be hit by an overnight raid is Beechwood Cancer Care, whose Bramhall store was targeted.

Volunteers arrived on Monday morning to find the shop ransacked, the safe emptied of several days’ takings and costume jewellery stolen.

The value of the haul is around £600 with damage caused costing an estimated £1,000 to repair.

Barnardo’s in Marple and Oxfam in Stockport town centre have suffered very similar overnight burglaries that were discovered on March 2 and February 27 respectively.

Lorraine Fairclough, Beechwood’s community and volunteer manager, said: “The volunteers were the first ones there and they are really upset.

“I just feel disbelief and disappointment.”

The raid, at Bramhall Lane South, happened some time after the shop closed on Saturday, March 4, at 4.45pm. After a failed attempt to force the back door a rear window was smashed and the upstairs safe prised open.

At Barnardo’s, on Market Street, a man believed to have been using crutches to get around took the back door off its hinges and stole £200 from the safe.

But at Oxfam, on Princes Street, the break-in - again through the back door resulted in nothing being taken as the safe could not be forced open. Police have appealed for witnesses. Call 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.