Burglars steal £20k worth of white goods from charity shop Emmaus Preston Megastore

Emmaus Preston Megastore says it believes the store was a victim of organised crime.

The hit, overnight on Wednesday, has left staff at the Brookfield Street shop unable to make deliveries to people in need.

An Emmaus spokesman said: “Sadly this week the Emmaus Preston Megastore was burgled and more the £20,000 worth of stock was stolen, mainly large electrical appliances.

“We were all heartbroken to discover our megastore had been broken into when we arrived for work on Thursday morning.

“It seems clear that this was an organised crime and the gang may well have had to make more than one trip to steal the amount of goods that they did.

“This theft has caused great disruption and heartache to our community, along with a large bill for the repairs that will be needed.

“Our people are formerly homeless and work hard in our shops to raise money to pay for their food, training and support.

“We had a number of deliveries that day for people in need who had nothing, referred through Lancashire Welfare Scheme, who now we cannot deliver to.”

Anyone with information is urged to call Lancashire Police on 01772 209738 quoting incident number LC-20190321-0318 or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.