LOROS volunteers have been left ‘heart-broken’after finding the shop they work in ‘ransacked’ following a break-in on Thursday night.
Thieves targeted the Blaby shop, causing more than £1,000 worth of damage and leaving with a small float from the till.
This is the third successful break-in of LOROS shop since the beginning of the year, with thieves attempting to break in to two others, causing a total of more than £3,000 damage.
LOROS Trading Manager Jonathan Capewell said: “Thursday night’s break-in at Blaby has caused a great deal of heartache to our volunteers who discovered it on Friday morning.
“They work so hard to raise money to care for our patients at the Hospice and to see the great deal of damage done to their shop was truly heart-breaking.”
Along with the Blaby shop, the Hospice’s Oadby store and Spiral Scratch in Leicester’s Queens Road have also been broken into.
The Hospice’s Welford Road Furniture Shop and the Queens Road Book Shop, both in Leicester were also target by thieves, although the break-ins were unsuccessful.
“It’s really distressing for everyone here at LOROS, it seems charity shops have become an easy target for thieves in Leicester and Leicestershire,” added Jonathan.
“The thing is they aren’t even taking much. It is the cost of repairing the damage that is going to have a big effect on us more than anything.
“The £3000 damage is the equivalent to the cost of six days of complementary therapy at the Hospice, for our patients, their carers and families.
“It’s so upsetting when you think that the people responsible for this don’t seem to be considering the terminally ill adults we care for.”
