Claims police have 'lost control' of Walsall area after raiders stole vital equipment and trashed building

Reedswood Sons of Rest building, at Talbot House in Bentley Lane, will remain closed until further notice following the burglary which saw items including laptops, cash and even second hand coats – which were to be donated to those in need this winter taken.

Damage was also caused to the pool table while rooms including the kitchen were trashed.

It is the second time in just over a year the Reedswood Park-based facility has been hit following the theft of 45 bikes in October last year.

Chris Jones, chair of Birchills Agenda 21 group which operates from the building, said he had lost faith in the police following this and a string of other incidents in and around the area.

These include raids on the post office in nearby Beechdale, businesses reportedly being attacked with bricks, drug dealing and robberies.

Mr Jones, who was previously a councillor for the Birchills Leamore ward, claims the police had shown no interest in partnership working to try to tackle the issues.

He said: “The building was targeted in the night and it is completely trashed.  They’ve broken the pool table and it is beyond repair.

“They’ve trashed the kitchen so the place is unusable. We’re still assessing the damage but it’s a devastating blow again – just over 12 months since the last one.

“It’s diabolical. It’s the second time we’ve been targeted – the offenders are operating with ease.

“Things are not getting any better, they’re getting worse and we are not seeing any efforts to alleviate all of this

“Police have lost control and I’ve lost all faith in them. We don’t see any community engagement and we are key players here.”

Shokt Fazal, of Agenda 21, added: “It’s just mindless vandalism. The sad part is we’ve had 35 coats donated to do a winter programme. They are all second hand coats and they’ve taken 30 of them.

“They’ve taken three laptops – one of them was a brand new Chromebook – and a tablet and about £40 in cash and they’ve trashed the place.

“They’ve even stolen a brand new box of cycling helmets and they’ve taken a box of table tennis bats and they’ve taken all our tools for repairing the bikes.

“It just adds to the feeling of a lack of policing and general anti-social behaviour – it’s just over a year since we had the bikes stolen and now this.

“It’s senseless. Stuff can be replaced but now we have to make the place secure and it puts us back by another year.”

Birchills Leamore councillor Tina Jukes said: “It’s such a shame when people like Agenda 21 are trying to do things for their local community, such as the coat project.

“I know the laptops which were taken were used to help residents in applying for a blue badges, council tax rebates etc. This now has caused issues with having them stolen.

“My heart goes out to the volunteers who run Agenda 21 and the Sons of Rest building for the local community.”

A West Midlands Police spokesperson said: “We are investigating a break-in at the Reedswood Sons of Rest, situated on Bentley Lane, which took place between 2.30pm on Monday November 13 and 9.10am yesterday (Tues) where property was taken.

“We would appeal for people who may have any information to please contact us via Live Chat on our website or by calling 101 quoting crime reference number 20/992654/23.”

Inspector Pete Poolton, Neighbourhood policing manager for Walsall LPA, added: “We had already made contact with Mr Jones and I have contacted him again regarding the break-in and to discuss policing in the area.

“We have a dedicated neighbourhood team based at Blakenall who carry out regular patrols in the area. Our officers and PCSO’s also play a key engagement role and are on hand to offer crime prevention advice.

“We have a close relationship with Reedwood Sons of Rest which is an excellent facility and we recognise what a key role it has in the community. It is vital for us to continue to work together to tackle any issue we face.”