Christmas funds stolen from care home is a 'kick in the teeth'

A safe containing funds for Christmas has been stolen from a care home in Musselburgh.

Credit: kenny1/Shutterstcok.com

According to Police Scotland, more than £2,000 was in the safe when it was taken from Hollies Day Centre in East Lothian on Sunday 2 December.

A black pushchair was believed to have been used to carry the safe from the premises at around 7.30pm, which was later found abandoned in Eskside West.

Care home manager Liz Shannon called the theft a “kick in the teeth”, after they had just been given a £10,000 lifeline from Musselburgh Common Good Fund to keep its services going in the lead-up to Christmas.

“This has been a blow to us and a violation as well,” she added.

Ms Shannon said the door of the upstairs office had been forced open and the safe was unbolted from the top of a filing cabinet and removed from the premises.

Following the theft, an appeal to replace the stolen money was launched on the Musselburgh Folks Facebook page. Within a couple of days, local charity Walk with Scott Foundation came forward with a donation of £2,000.

Detective Sergeant James Welsh, of East and Midlothian CID, said: “This money included funds kindly donated by the local community, and we believe the centre was deliberately targeted because of this.

“It’s likely that the pushchair was used to carry the safe from the premises and we’re urging anyone who may have seen suspicious behaviour in the area of the High Street, Eskside East, Eskside West, or the adjoining bridges on Sunday morning, to get in touch with us immediately.

“Anyone with information can contact Police Scotland on 101, quoting incident number 0707 of 3rd December, or report this anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.”

The centre’s funding crisis was highlighted in June when it was described as being “on its knees financially”, potentially having to suspend its services unless it received a major cash injection.

The centre runs an annexe for people living with dementia, along with a lunch club, public cafe, charity shop and other services such as a minibus and hairdresser.

click here for more details or to contact Hollies Day Centre