Charity 'heartbroken' as thieves target shop

The St Helena Hospice shop on Magdalen Street, Colchester, was broken into over the weekend

A hospice has been left thousands of pounds out of pocket after a charity shop was broken into.

St Helena Hospice said its shop on Magdalen Street, in Colchester, had been targeted by thieves between 18:00 BST on Saturday and 01:30 on Sunday.

Nothing was taken, but repairs and loss of sales while the shop was closed for two days has cost the charity more than £2,500.

The hospice urged anyone with information about the incident to contact Essex Police.

Earlier this year, the St Helena Hospice shop in Dovercourt was broken into twice within four months.

Retail area manager, Jo Ince, said the money the charity has lost after the latest break-in would be enough to run the hospice's inpatient unit for more than 10 hours.

"We are heartbroken that we have had this happen to us again," she said.

"This is vital money that should be spent on supporting patients and their families."

St Helena Hospice provides specialist palliative and end of life care to people facing incurable illness in north east Essex.