Harborne PDSA charity shop targeted by thieves in Easter raid

04 April 2018

Heartless criminals steal hundreds of pounds of cash

Thieves have targeted our Harborne charity shop which raises money for sick and injured pets – even helping themselves to tea and biscuits during an Easter raid.

A safe was cracked open with over £300 of cash stolen, and damage running into thousands of pounds caused to the shop during the robbery, which happened over the Easter break.

Staff arrived at the shop in High Street on Easter Monday to find they had been the victims of a break-in.

Lisa Wilkes, Harborne PDSA shop manager, said: “I arrived on Monday morning and couldn’t believe what had happened. I pushed the door to the sorting area and could see the light was on, which was strange. I then noticed the safe was gone and found it had been moved to the sorting area. It had been opened and all the contents removed.

“All the lockers that our volunteers put their belongings in had been smashed open and there was also a door hanging off its hinges. They must have been here a while too because they’d even made themselves a cup of tea and ate some biscuits!”

The incident is believed to have happened between Saturday evening and Monday morning, with the neighbouring stationery shop also targeted. The damage caused to our Harborne shop meant it was forced to close on Easter Monday – traditionally a very busy shopping day.

Lisa added: “Everyone is in utter shock – we’re all devastated. Instead of opening our doors on Easter Monday to help raise vital funds for pets in need, we were in here sorting out the mess and having police forensic teams in.

“Being unable to open the shop means that not only have we lost donations, we’ve also lost out on income that would have helped treat poorly pets and had to pay to repair all the damage.”

Our Harborne shop has issued an urgent appeal for donations of any good quality, unwanted items of clothing, shoes and accessories. To help, please call Lisa at the shop on (0121) 427 3441 or email Harborne.Shop@pdsa.org.uk

Anyone with any information about the incident is asked to contact Harborne Police on 101 as a matter of urgency.