CALLOUS criminals have wrecked Christmas for a charity shop.
The Shelter charity shop, in Crayford High Street, was burgled last week and £950 of stock, which was bought new by the homeless charity to be sold on, was taken.
It is the third time this year the shop has been broken into and manager Anthea Thompson is worried it will not be the last.
She said: "We had stock delivered such as jewellery and lava lamps, to be sold in our shops.
"I had locked the shop up the night before as usual and when I came in the next day the place had been wrecked and nearly £1,000 worth of new goods stolen."
There was no sign of forced entry into the shop and Anthea believes the crooks could have waited in one of the changing rooms until she left before taking what they wanted.
She said: "I think they must have studied the shop and seen when I left.
"If they had come in five minutes before closing and hidden in the changing rooms I would not have been able to see them. There was no sign of forced entry so I think that must have been what had happened."
She said that the crime will spoil Christmas for homeless people. "At this time of year, with the cold weather, we have to provide a lot more for homeless people.
"Because of this burglary, we will not be able to donate as much money to help the homeless and they will suffer."
She added this is not the first time the shop has become a victim of crime.
Mrs Thompson said: "We are quite used to crime in this shop.
"We keep having the charity box stolen and it is easy to steal from a charity shop because the goods are non-traceable. But it hinders the work we do.
"Luckily, we have some great customers and a great staff who helped clear up so we could get open promptly again."
A police spokesman said: "At this time, we do not appear to have any leads in this crime.
If you are offered jewellery or lava lamps cheaply or have any other information about the burglary, please call Sergeant Peter Cudd on 020 8284 9142 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111.
December 13, 2001 16:56
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