A heartless thief broke into and robbed a charity for deprived children at around 1.30am last Wednesday (December 1).
QPG Community and Sports Hub is a children’s charity on Kilburn Lane, W10, which was set up five years ago by Westminster resident Ryan Dalton, 30.
Using a crowbar, the down-and-out used so much force during his entry that he broke the door frame, before proceeding to loot the building.
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Ryan said: “Someone took what we found out later to be a crow bar and broke into the back door and they did considerable damage because they basically smashed the inner, inside bit of the house, the wood and the doorframe. They did considerable damage to the whole of the back of the hub.“
They forced their way in and did considerable damage to the door and the interior of the door frame.
“Then they made their way round the hub with a torch and helped themselves to whatever they liked. And then left through the back.”
Ryan added that the crook took the TV from the wall, a Nintendo Wii, two Samsung laptops and a karaoke machine.
They even helped themselves to a bottle of orange juice which was for the kids’ breakfast.
The overall cost to the charity is estimated to be around £2,000, according to Ryan.
Ryan said: “Just because schools break up next week doesn’t mean we are going to finish, we are going to carry on through Christmas, and stuff like Nintendo Wii and TV that’s like basic entertainment for them.”
The robbery has taken its toll on staff morale – something that is important to Ryan.
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“We have 29 volunteers and we need everyone to know it’s still a safe space to work. It’s about keeping everyone happy so they can do their jobs,” he said.
Ryan also has some stern words to say to the thief.
The thief brazenly walked around and help themselves to what they wanted
“I’m sorry that they felt so desperate that they had to do that to children,” he said.
“In my view, you have to be pretty down-and-out and desperate to want to steal from an after-school club and a breakfast club, and from a charity in general.
“I’m hoping that this person isn’t an awful, horrible person and I’m just hoping that they were just really down on their luck and I hope they get the help they need.”
But despite accepting that the thief isn’t evil, Ryan finds it hard to forgive them.
He said: “I think it’s quite hard to forgive a thief knowing that they have caused so much upset to people.”
A Met Police spokesperson said: “Police were called at around 07:15hrs on Wednesday, 8 December to a report of a burglary at a property on Kilburn Lane, W10.
The thief looting in action
“It is believed the suspect forced open a backdoor to gain entry and stole a number of items before fleeing the scene.“
Enquiries are ongoing; no arrests have been made.”
QPG Community and Sports Hub have set up a fundraiser to replace the stolen goods.
You can donate to it here .
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