Midlothian charity volunteers have been left devastated after they were targeted by an alleged thief.
Mark Wells, 47, who is the project manager for ‘Food, Facts and Friends Wellbeing Hub’ has said the incident has left workers feeling devastated.
The hub, which offers a range of services including a food pantry, community cafe and zero waste fridge among many others, was forced to close on Friday, January 3 after reportedly being broken into overnight.
Penicuik police received the report of a theft of a ‘charity money tin’ and ‘a sum of money’ was taken from the John Street premises.
A 45-year-old was arrested in connection with the incident and will appear in court at a later date.
Mark said it was heartbreaking having to turn service users away from the space on Friday 3 but he commended the local community for rallying to support the charity.
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“When I entered the building a donation box, cash from the till had been taken,” he said. “The cash was around £180 and would have been used to buy important food for our services to run.
“We sadly had to turn people away on Friday because police and crime scene people were here all day meaning we had to close. We have young families and the elderly in to use the food pantry on a Friday but they were unable to come in.
“It is the most vulnerable in our community who rely upon our services. A lot of them are dealing with poverty, isolation or just struggling with putting the heating on so they come to us for some warmth.
“We would get about 50-60 people through our doors on a Friday due to the big range of services we offer. Thankfully we were able to open on the Saturday once the police had left.
“It makes me feel upset and if they were needing help, they could have just come in and asked. We are feeling hurt that something could happen like this.”
There is concern around the cost of replacing the door, with Mark saying the charity are in the process of finding out whether insurance will cover the damage.
Her said if the insurance is unable to cover it, this will be another financial hit which will have to be covered out of the organisation’s pocket.
“Our service users are really unhappy about what has happened,” he added. “When people have been paying at the pantry they would normally hand over £3.50 but a lot of them are giving £5 and telling us the extra is to make up for the money we have lost.
“It is really powerful seeing people support us when they are having difficulties themselves.”
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A spokesperson for Police Scotland said: “At 9.10am on Friday January 3, 2025 officers received reports of a break-in and theft at a charity’s premises in John Street, Penicuik. A charity tin and a sum of money was reported to have been stolen sometime between Thursday, January 2, 2025 and Friday, January 3, 2025.
“A 45-year-old was arrested and charged in connection. He is due to appear at Edinburgh Sheriff Court at a later date.”