Vandalised foodbank 'overwhelmed' by support

A foodbank team have said it has been "completely overwhelmed with the love and support" from the community after a second break-in into its warehouse.

The Hart Foodbank in Fleet serves communities across Hampshire and Berkshire and was broken into on the evening of 25 May.

Food supplies, including large quantities of pasta, were destroyed and taps were left running.

Hampshire police appealed to anyone who has information about the incident to get in touch.

The team said the intruders had smashed windows to gain entry, using bricks from a wall behind the building.

Pantry manager Kate Wakley said they had opened all pasta packets and thrown them all over the floor, stuffed pasta down the toilets and in the sinks leaving taps running "with the view of trying to flood the premises", and used a fire extinguisher on a broken jar of coffee.

She said the team was "particularly devastated to find the mess" for a second time.

"You're going in to do something positive... and your heart sinks," she said.

"My heart aches for the people who did it because I [wonder] what's going on in their lives that they feel this is something they need to do."

About 40 volunteers helped the clean-up on Saturday and Ms Wakley said they had noticed an increase in donations.

The foodbank is now preparing for the launch of its mobile community pantry, which is an extension of the service.

In a Facebook post, Hart South Police said the foodbank had been "mindlessly vandalised."

"There have been an increase in the number of Burglary and Criminal damage reports in the local area of late," the post reads.

"A lot of these have been youngsters exploring 'abandoned' buildings in what appears to be part of an 'Urban Exploring' craze that is doing the rounds at the moment."

It urged parents to talk to their children about the "severity of committing offences such as Criminal Damage and Burglary".

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