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Peckham food bank raided leaving shelves empty

A food bank in Peckham has been raided with thieves taking ‘thousands of pounds worth’ of stock in a brazen robbery.

Local reports suggest volunteers have been left utterly disheartened after they arrived at the outlet on Peckham High Street to find the shelves stripped of food and hygiene products.

The charity helps hundreds of people every week with emergency food parcels and toiletries.

But on Sunday night (8/9), a group of people ransacked the building, with footage showing the looters forcing the shutters open and going ‘back and forth’ for hours taking any stock they could get their hands on.

A spokesperson from the food bank said: “It’s been difficult getting donations in this year anyway.

“But to come in this morning and see this, it’s very disheartening.”

As a result of the break-in, they estimate that they have lost around £3,000 worth of stock. They are now appealing to the community to help them recover it, so they can keep helping residents.

They also had to spend £600 to fix the damage, including getting a new lock and shutter.

The spokesperson said they ‘couldn’t understand’ why anyone would do this, especially as they give it away for free anyway.

“If people are desperate we give them stuff,” they continued, “We never turn anyone anyway.”

You can donate to Southwark Foodbank here

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