Staff 'saddened' after Acorns Hospice charity shop ransacked

The Acorns Hospice shop in High Street, Blackheath, was broken into overnight.

Thieves smashed in the front door and ransacked the shop – stealing a till charity bosses said was "basically empty".

Acorns Hospice provides care and support to life-limited and life-threatened children and their families across the West Midlands. Last year the charity launched an emergency appeal for funding after it revealed a shortfall in funding meant it could close down.

CEO of Acorns, Toby Porter, said the charity shops were a "vital source of income" for the organisation – especially during the pandemic which has put a "huge pressure" on the charity sector.

Mr Porter posted images of the break-in on Twitter, showing the smashed front door and the mess the thieves had left inside.

He wrote on Twitter: "Very sad to report our Acorns Hospice charity shop at Blackheath was broken into last night. Thieves did significant damage smashing a door to gain entry and removing a basically empty till. Staff and volunteers working hard to re-open as soon as possible."

In a further statement to the Express & Star he added: "We were shocked and deeply saddened to discover thieves had broken into our shop in Blackheath overnight causing significant damage.

"Our shops are a vital source of income in funding our lifeline care and support for some of the most vulnerable children and families in our community.

"At a time when coronavirus has put huge pressure on the charity sector, it is shocking to think that someone could have deliberately targeted and damaged a shop raising funds for our children’s hospice care.

"Our staff and volunteers at the Blackheath shop are showing incredible resilience and are working hard to reopen the store as soon as possible."

West Midlands Police are investigating the incident, which happened in the early hours of Monday at about 2.20am.