Raiders’ £15k charity haul (From St Helens Star)

Raiders’ £15k charity haul

6:50pm Thursday 13th September 2012 in News By Andrew Kilmurray, News editor

BURGLARS escaped with more than £15,000 of equipment from a care support charity – a fortnight after a similar high-value raid at a neighbouring firm.

Workers at Crossroads Care – which provides respite care for people who look after adults and children with disabilities – turned up at work on Monday morning to discover their offices had been ransacked.

Eight laptops, a projector and 20 mobile phones were among the haul crooks escaped with from the unit at Waterside Court, Pocket Nook.

They ripped away roller shutters before getting inside the office.

The raid appears to be a carbon copy of a break-in that was discovered at neighbouring Castlerock Recruitment on Monday, August 27.

Burglars escaped with 40 laptops and a company car, netting a haul believed to be worth more than £20,000.

Detectives were this week investigating whether the crimes are linked.

Speaking to the Star, Sandra Keatley, 44, the interim manager of the charity, described the crime as a “sickening blow”.

She said: “How can people do something like this? It makes things very difficult for us – we are a charity, which provides a vital service.”

The latest raid happened as police continue an investigation into the burglary at Castlerock, a health care recruitment firm.

A police spokesman said: “A number of items were reported as having been taken from the premises including: laptops, mobile phones, 50-inch LG Plasma TV, cash and a silver Peugeot 107.

“The vehicle has since been recovered and is in the process of being forensically examined.”

It is understood the company Peugeot, which features Castlerock’s logo, was recovered by one of the firm’s bosses after a sighting of it was reported in St Helens.

Anyone with information is asked to call Merseyside Police on 101 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.