Appeal after defibrillator and CCTV stolen from cafe just months after being installed

A CAFE has been left distraught after its defibrillator was stolen just months after being installed. The Cafe at Ridgeway on Allt-Yr-Yn Avenue, Newport, said its defibrillator was stolen overnight between Monday, April 18, and Tuesday, April 19, and that three of its CCTV cameras were also taken.

The life-saving equipment was installed at the cafe back in December after a campaign by the Defibrillators for Glasllwch School, Ridgeway & Allt-Yr-Yn areas group along with support from charity Jack’s Appeal ABUHB. The cafe posted on social media after the discovery saying three of its outdoor CCTV cameras had been taken from the premises as well as the defibrillator which it said “the community worked hard for raising funds.”

Claudia Alonzi-Lewis, manager of The Cafe at Ridgeway, said: “The girls had finished the night before and everything was fine. I came in at half past seven the following morning and there was a mess on the ground and one of our high stools was on the ground. I looked up and saw all the wires from the CCTV cameras hanging down and realised they were gone.”

Ms Alonzi-Lewis said it wasn’t until a few hours later when a colleague told her the defibrillator installed outside the cafe was missing. “It’s in a box and covered with an outer shell and a door that only opens with a code which wasn’t missing, so we hadn’t noticed anything was wrong. There was no damage to the outside. We’ve told the ambulance service to cancel it. We have other CCTV cameras but we don’t know yet if it was recorded or not.”

She added that she didn’t know how the defibrillator had been stolen but said it had cost around £2,000 and was hoping funds could be raised to replace it.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting reference 2200128525 or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.