A children’s charity has been left “devastated” after its respite caravans were burgled.
The sickening raids on caravans owned by Huddersfield charity Ruddi’s Retreat happened over the winter period at Haven’s Primrose Valley site.
The caravans were not in use at the time and the raids were only discovered when founder of the charity, Ali Jones, went to open up for the new season.
Ruddi’s Retreat lets the caravans out for free to families with seriously or terminally ill children who are in desperate need of a break.
Ali found that two windows had been broken and that TVs and Play Stations had been stolen from both caravans. Damage was estimated at £1,000.
And Ali said that 10 families, who were hoping to take week-long holidays in the caravan, may no longer be able to do so.
Ali, who lives in Linthwaite, said: “We are absolutely devastated and I can’t believe that anyone would do that to a charity. We even have signs up on the caravans which say they belong to us.”
It is the latest blow to the charity which was forced to close its bistro in Manchester Road, Linthwaite, in January, due to high overhead costs.
“We’re really down about it all,” said Ali, who set up the charity following the cancer battle of her own son, Ruddi Waterworth-Jones.
Diagnosed with rhabdomysarcoma, he recently got a five-year all clear from doctors.
Ali was also concerned about security at the caravan site and said: “We pay £7,000 each year in site fees to Haven, which is meant to include 24/7 security.
“And to add insult to injury, they’ve also misplaced our charity money spinner, which we used to collect money on site.
“We’re now thinking of moving venue so that this doesn’t happen again.”
A spokesman for the park said that those behind the break-ins had subsequently been caught and found guilty in court and said that Haven had agreed to pay a policy excess of £100.
He said: “Such an incident is a rare occurrence but with more than 1,500 caravans over 200 acres, there are exceptions that we have to deal with.
“The items lost and damage (caused) are fully covered by the caravans’ mandatory insurance policy and we will pay the policy excess to ensure that there is no cost to the charity.
“We believe the money spinner was removed in error by contractors during a recent park refurbishment, which we apologise for.
“Following direct discussions with charity representatives and an assessment of how many coins were likely to be in it, we offered a sum of £250 to cover the total cost which the charity indicated it was content with.
“We have also offered to host a replacement spinner in a new location on the park for this year.”
To contact Ruddi’s Retreat click here.
