Real Junk Food Project supermarket raided twice in a week

The Kindness Sharehouse in Wakefield operates a pay-as-you-feel policy for selling food that would otherwise be binned

A food waste "supermarket" has been forced to close after it was broken into twice in a week.

The Real Junk Food Project's Kindness Sharehouse in Wakefield operates a pay-as-you-feel policy for selling food that would otherwise be binned.

It was targeted by thieves on Sunday and then again overnight on Thursday.

After the first break-in, founder Adam Smith tweeted to the thieves: "In future if you just ask us for money or food, we probably give it to you."

He continued: "You didn't have to break our safe or smash our donation bucket.

"Keep the £250, you're always welcome back."

Adam Smith opened his first food waste cafe in Armley

Mr Smith said as well as stealing the safe and laptop, thousands of pounds worth of damage had been caused.

He said they were having to temporarily shut because all the keys had been stolen including those to open the fridges.

"There's families being turned away and we're meant to be out delivering food to families in Halifax," he said.

"We were meant to be trading over the Easter weekend. There's a lot of impact right now."

Mr Smith's idea of using food which was being thrown away began in 2013 when he opened a cafe in Armley, Leeds, offering meals produced from waste food.

It has since grown into a global network, with cafes and other projects across the world.