Peterborough's Little Miracles charity vows to bounce back after being left heartbroken by break in

Staff and volunteers at Peterborough’s Little Miracles have vowed to bounce back after being left heartbroken by a break-in that has left them thousands of pounds out of pocket.

The charity, based at the Spinney in Hartwell Way, looks after children with disabilities or with additional needs, and are now appealing for help after the burglary, which happened in the early hours of Monday, March 13.

Computers, games consoles and iPads which were vital to helping scores of youngsters in the city were either smashed or stolen in the raid

‘Havoc’

Louise Evans, head of income generation at the charity, said: “It is heartbreaking what has happened. Whoever has done this has caused havoc. The iPads, for example, are crucial for some of our non-verbal children.

"But we will bounce back, and come back even stronger. The team here is like a family. We all work so hard.”

Staff at the charity were alerted to the break in at about 3am on Monday morning, when alarms were sounded. Workers quickly arrived at the scene, and while the culprit(s) had escaped, the team were met with a scene of devastation.

‘Glass has gone everywhere’

Louise said: “We came in and windows were smashed and there was a lot of damage. It was heartbreaking to see.

"We had to close the site on Monday, while the police forensic team was in. They were here for about six hours – they were fantastic. We also had to make sure the building was secure overnight.

"We were able to take the children off site on Monday to do activities like bowling, or at Glo Golf, and we were able to open again on Tuesday.

"The glass has gone everywhere, so we have had to close some parts off while we make sure it is safe. We have also got to go through all the toys to make sure there is no glass in them. It might cost a lot to replace toys that have glass in them.

"One of the Xboxes that we use was taken by the individual, but they dropped it as they climbed the fence, and it smashed. Some of the iPads were broken, and laptops have been stolen.

"Uniformity is very important for some of our children, who need to know things will be the same. We have had to explain to parents that things will be different, and some areas are boarded up.”

However, while staff are continuing to deal with the devastation, they have had their hearts warmed by messages of support since the break in.

How you can help charity

Louise said: “We have already had incredible support from the community, and some lovely messages that have really helped.

"The maintenance team have been incredible over the past couple of days as well.

"We don’t know how much it will cost, but the insurance excess is in the thousands.”We will be setting up a funding page online, and any financial help we could get would be incredible.”

To donate money to the charity, visit www.justgiving.com/page/littlemiracles. For more information on the charity and other ways to help, visit www.littlemiraclescharity.org.uk

Anyone with information about the break in should contact police on 101.