Police appeal for witnesses after incident mars charity fun day

On Saturday (July 31), Coronaheroes hosted a fun day at The Focus Centre on Chestnut Avenue, Dogsthorpe. It was a chance for many of the volunteers from the Coronaheroes Peterborough Facebook page to meet up with each other and members of the wider community to both have a good time and to celebrate the work of the group over the last 17 months.

The Facebook group was set up at the beginning of the pandemic as a way to support those in need in the city. Since then, the group has helped so many people in the city, with their members taking responsibility for collecting and distributing food donations to those in need, cooking meals, coordinating voluntary efforts, donating money to good causes and generally offering support to people wherever they could.

The fun day was billed as a family event and included stalls, an ice cream seller, bouncy castles. live music and a bar. The event itself was a big success, with a large number of people attending and enjoying the fun, however, right at the end, police were called to reports of trouble.

This is believed to have been caused by people who were intoxicated and there were reports online of children having to hide in the toilets for their own safety.

Police confirmed that they were called to the event and found a woman had been injured from where a chair had struck her. The suspect is still outstanding and the police have urged anyone with any information to get in touch.

A spokesperson for Cambridgeshire Police said: “Police were called at 8:05pm on Saturday (31 July) to reports of a male throwing chairs at the Focus Centre in Chestnut Avenue, Dogsthorpe.

“On arrival the male was not there and officers began their investigation, the suspect remains outstanding.

“A woman received minor injuries from where a chair struck her. Anyone with any info should contact police on 101.”

Organisers were keen to not let the incident ruin the success of the day though.

Admin Stevie Wiley said: “The fun day was an amazing success during the day and stalls are already rebooking for our next event.

“It was a happy family day as for the incident in question we are working with the police to get as much information as we can.”

Visitors also took to the Facebook page to share their opinions. One added: “Let’s give all the admin team a big thank you for the fun day today at the focus community centre dogsthorpe.

“For the aftermath of the incident this evening we will not be beaten and we just come back fighting bigger and better for the next event.”

While another said: “Throughout the past year Stevie and her team have helped so many people out of the kindness of your heart and then to organise such a big free event. Sadly, you can’t control people’s actions so ignore the negative people. Stand tall and be super proud!”