BURGLARS trashed a charity shop in Widnes and stole cash and property causing more than £2,500 worth of damage.

Intruders smashed the front door of Sue Ryder's shop on Albert Square in the early hours of Saturday, raided the till, emptied a donation tin and ransacked the office.

Manager Denise Savile was distressed to discover a trail of destruction and the day's takings stolen.

"It is upsetting," she said. "They cut wires on the till, trashed the office and stole all our takings and a donation tin which was chained to the front desk.

"We offer palliative care to everyone no matter what their disease is and we look after families.

"These burglars might be young lads but they might need us to help them one day. They don't realise they are taking away care from somebody else.

"To break in anywhere is awful but to a charity shop is not nice."

The shop opened for business as usual on Monday.

Denise added: "We have a great team of really good volunteers who helped us to clear up.

"We have introduced new measures to improve security. The police forensic have been out.

"A break-in like this leaves a bad taste but we are going to keep going.

"We need donations of clothing and bric-a-brac. We would also welcome anyone willing to volunteer their time."

Donations can be dropped off at the back door of the shop at unit 17 Albert Square.

Sue Ryder has issued this open letter to the thieves:

"We don’t know who you are, your situation, or what you might be going through and how desperate you may be. But we find it upsetting that you would steal from the Sue Ryder Widnes shop - a charity shop.

"Not just take an item from our shelves without paying, which would be bad enough, but smash your way in the front door and steal money from our till, take a donation tin, hundreds of pounds of new and donated items, and trash the back offices.

"We would like you to know that when you stole from us, your actions had a ripple effect. You stole not just from us, but from the wider community too.

"You might not know that the Sue Ryder Widnes shop, like other charity shops, relies on donations from the public.

"The generous people who donate their clothing and books to our shop could have sold these items on themselves for their own benefit, yet choose instead to donate to Sue Ryder.

Sue Ryder shops across the UK support the care we provide for people with life-changing conditions at our seven hospices.

"With the money taken from our till in Widnes, the cost of repairs to our door and the loss of takings from when we had to close the shop after the break-in, we estimate Sue Ryder has lost out on around £2,500 - money that could have paid for a hospice nurse for nearly a month.

"Patients at Sue Ryder hospices might not have much time left, and they, along with their families and friends, need support and a helping hand from our hospice nurses. In other words, the money you stole would have helped others cope with some of the most challenging and emotional times of their lives.

"But possibly the most important thing for you to know is that thanks to the generosity of the Widnes community, our shop, which has been going strong for over five years, is bouncing back.

"With more donations, volunteers and happy customers, we’ll raise more money to continue helping those who need it."