Peterborough’s Green Backyard to have stolen items returned

The Green Backyard, based on Oundle Road have transformed a once derelict allotment site into a beautiful and productive community garden that is open to everyone.

Volunteers were left devastated after burglars broke into the site last month, stealing tools, equipment and an electronic tablet.

But now police have recovered some of the stolen items - and they will be returned to the organisation.

Sergeant Craig Foster said: “The break-in, which happened on 23 October, had a real detrimental effect on the charity and they were unable to open in the following days due to the theft of many essential items”.

“We are delighted we managed to recover some of the stolen equipment from a property in Baker Lane, Woodston.”

Lauren Kendrick, from The Green Backyard, said: “We are very thankful to the police for all their hard work and support at this time. It is a great relief some of the items have been recovered and we will continue to work with the police to help protect against this happening again on our site, or any other in the future. It has been a difficult time for both the charity and our community.

“We have suffered thousands of pounds of losses in stolen goods and damage across the site, not to mention the time that has had to be put in by both staff and volunteers to get the site up and running again for the community. The response from our supporters has been fantastic though, and we can’t thank them enough.

“As a small charity, the financial impact of this break-in is potentially very damaging and so we will be launching a crowdfunding effort to try to help us replace and repair everything, and to make improvements to our security.”

You can support The Green Back yard on their fundraising page: https://wonderful.org/appeal/helpusrecover-78a3dd9e

A 19-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy, both from Peterborough, were arrested in connection with this burglary and have since been released under investigation.

Anyone with information is asked to call police on 101 quoting incident 108 of 23 October or report online at www.cambs.police.uk/report.