Brighton meals on wheels deliveries continue after raid

A meals on wheels operation in Brighton will continue despite a break-in which saw the keys to the service's hot vans stolen, the city council has said.

The Portslade base of the council's contractor WRVS, which runs the service, was raided on Wednesday night.

Volunteers are using their own cars until locks on the four vans can be changed, manager Brian Merrick said.

Mr Merrick said he arrived at work on Thursday to find the safe, which contained the keys, had been stolen.

He said burglars got in by breaking a window.

"We do deliver some meals anyway with private cars, but we're just having to get everyone we've got who has got a private car to bring their car in and deliver the meals that way," he added.

And he said: "We're hoping to get the locks changed on the vans in about three to five days hopefully, by which time the vans will be back on the road again, but in the meantime it's all hands on steering wheels."

Meals were delivered on Thursday without problems, he added.

The council advised any clients with concerns or issues with deliveries to contact the WRVS.

A spokesman for the local authority said the incident was being investigated by Sussex Police.