VOLUNTEERS at a charity shop have been left devastated after vandals targeted it, smashing the front window.
The incident, which happened at the St Luke's Hospice charity shop in Callington between 10pm on Friday and 5am on Saturday, has caused hundreds of pounds of damage to the window.
The shop has won the Callington Honey Fair award for the most attractive shop window for the last two years, but for fear that they will be targeted again, the decision has been made to keep the window boarded up.
Marilyn Beverley, retail manager for the hospice, said: 'The shop window plays a big part in getting customers into the shop and the window display always helps our sales.
'Without the window display, people aren't going to see what the shop has on offer and this could affect our trade.
'At the moment, we are leaving the window boarded up because we are afraid it might happen again.'
Friday's damage is the latest in a number of incidents that have happened at the shop in the last few months, with vandals damaging the roof and causing a flood.
Police are also currently investigating a burglary which happened in September and a broken drainpipe which happened in August.
Despite the damage, assistant manager Margaret Hardy still opened up on Saturday and was delighted with the response from members of the public.
Helpful
'The people of Callington have been so helpful and are backing us,' she said.
'Nearly everyone is telling us to keep the change to go towards the window and whether it's two pence or a pound, it all helps.
'I can't believe the shop has been targeted. I was devastated when I opened up on Saturday.
'It's like the damage was done to my own home, I'm that passionate about the shop.'
Police are appealing for witnesses for all four incidents.