SALTASH people have been thanked for all the sympathy and support they have given to staff at the Cancer and Leukaemia in Childhood charity shop, following vandalism, and a theft.
There are now hopes, thanks to information given in to the shop anonymously, that the thieves may be tracked down.
The shop has been run by Ruth Cummins, with the help of her 'fantastic team' of volunteers for the past decade, after both her children died within eight months, her daughter 15-year-old Biddy killed in a car crash and her 12-year-old son Lee of bone cancer.
She appealed for help from the public after thieves smashed a window at the rear of the shop, broke a padlock on sheds where stock for the shop is kept and stole a number of bags. These were full of items staff had washed and pressed for sale and are thought to have been worth around £400.
During the second incident the whole of the front window in the shop in Fore Street was smashed around 4.30am. This was witnessed by a taxi driver who immediately called the police.
Ruth said that running the shop had helped her put her life back on track. She said: 'I would like to be able to ask the thieves if they would steal from a child who had lost their hair through chemotherapy, because that is, in fact, what they were doing.'
Sympathetic
She said that local people had been extremely sympathetic following the incidents, and stressed that she feels the shop is well supported because the money raised helps those living in the nearby area who need the services of CLIC.
She explained: 'We are soldiering on. All the the windows have been fixed, and new locks have been put on the shed doors.'
She said that the information she has been handed about the theft of the bags has now been given to the police.
Ruth explained: 'As the items donated to the shop are mainly given by the people of Saltash, and the money raised is used in the area, the thieves are really stealing from local residents.'