Thieves break every lock in charity raid on Amaze in Brighton

Hundreds of pounds’ worth of valuables were stolen from the Brighton office of Amaze, which helps disabled children in the city.

Two laptops, a projector and a camera were stolen after thieves broke down the charity’s door on Friday night in Community Base, Queen’s Road.

Amaze chief executive Rachel Travers said she felt sick when she was told of the break-in on Saturday morning.

“All of our desks and filing cabinets were forced open,” she said.

“Everyone here is so anxious.

“It is really shocking that anyone would think to steal from our small charity which works to support some of the city’s most vulnerable children.

“We had just bought a camera so the children could use it for a video project but we’re not sure what to do now.”

Thieves had raided the charity’s collection tins but only got away with a small amount of cash.

But things could have been much worse, as Amaze had raised more than £5,000 at its Big Cheer comedy event on Thursday.

“Luckily we had cashed it all in on Friday,” said charity chief Ms Travers.

“We would have been absolutely devastated if that was stolen.”

She added: “We’re really mindful of how difficult and desperate people’s lives are in the city.

“We regularly have people sleeping outside in our doorway.

“The person who did this must have been so desperate to feel they needed to steal from a disabled children’s charity.”

Three other charity offices in Community Base were broken into including community cookery group Brighton and Hove Food Partnership and the Trust for Developing Communities .

Community Base is home to more than 20 charities working in Brighton and Hove.

A spokeswoman for Sussex Police said: “We received a report of four separate burglaries occurring in an office block in Queen’s Road, Brighton.

“Anyone who witnessed any suspicious behaviour or has CCTV footage is asked to report online or call 101 quoting 585 of 20/10.”

To donate to Amaze, visit justgiving.com/amaze/donate.