An Isle of Wight charity nursery targeted by thieves will be able to replace stolen equipment thanks to a donation from the Southern Co-operative.
The West Wight Nursery had its gardening tools stolen, including strimmers, hedge cutters and drills.
After learning of the incident, Southern Co-op’s food and funeralcare branches in Freshwater agreed to make a joint contribution of £1,500. The funding was allocated by Southern Co-op’s food and funeralcare branches in Freshwater – Afton Road, Avenue Road and the Avenue as part of the society’s Love Your Neighbourhood community engagement programme.
Under the scheme, not-for-profit groups that benefit the local community can apply for support from a fund raised by the carrier bag levy.
Kim Tyrell, nursery manager, said: “We are really grateful that Southern Co-op has supported us after the losses. We are a charitable trust that needs every penny and puts all our money back into the setting.
“There isn’t any surplus and we need the tools to maintain the site so we are grateful for the support.”
Matt Burfield, store manager at Avenue Road, added: “All of us were really shocked to hear that someone could steal from a local charity and our community nursery – we knew we had to help.
“Crimes like these affect all of us in the community and we need to work together to support each other. It was very humbling to be given a tour around the nursery when we made our donation – they truly are an inspirational operation.”
