Burgled Oldham food bank 'overwhelmed' by donations

Thieves "ransacked the office" during last weekend's raid

Donors from around the world have given more than £8,000 to a food bank after it was ransacked by burglars.

Raiders stole food, money and computers from the Three Crowns Centre in Oldham, Greater Manchester, at the weekend.

Shocked volunteers arrived on Monday morning to find burglars had left a trail of destruction behind them.

But the charity has since been inundated with donations from as far away as Switzerland and the United States.

Co-manager, Lisa Leunig, said it had "restored her faith in humanity".

"We are absolutely overwhelmed by the way people have responded," she said.

"It started off on Monday with a £5 donation and it's snowballed from there.

As well as £6,000 raised via a fundraising page, Ms Leunig said, £2,500 in cheques and money has been sent in the post, including $50 from America.

The centre has also received "so much food...we are running out of space to put it all," she said.

"The people of Oldham have always been like this - it's one of the poorest towns in the country but the minute there's a crisis everyone pulls together."

Ms Leunig said the centre was open and staff were hoping to be "back up to speed" by next week.

The food bank opened in 2012 to help some of the most vulnerable people in the Oldham area.

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