Dumper truck used in raid on food bank charity

East Durham Trust, which is based in Peterlee and supports people from across Easington, was targeted in a break-in over the weekend, with a stolen dumper truck driven into one of its storage containers, which is used to hold goods donated to its cause.

Its Community House HQ, in Yoden Road, is at the centre of its efforts to deliver emergency food parcels to those in need. Various items of food, including eggs were lost in the attack.

It means a major setback for the team, which is helping those in self-isolation and those on Universal Credit.

Residents living nearby alerted Durham Constabulary to the burglary, which happened yesterday, with the intruders disturbed before more damage could be caused.

Chief executive of the trust, Malcolm Fallow, said: “It beggars belief that anyone could stoop so low, we are in the middle of supporting hundreds of vulnerable people at such a critical time and this is the last thing we needed.

“As well as the loss of food and the valuable time needed to sort out the mess, this is a major blow to the morale of staff and volunteers.”

The trust has run a foodbank for more than eight years and had risen to the challenge of stepping up services in recent weeks.

It has said its efforts to put together packages for people has been like running a “military field hospital” with demand increasing three-fold overnight as the crisis heightened, with hundreds of parcels already prepared.

It is appealing for donations and plastic carrier bags to help it continue its work, with non-perishable food but particularly long-life UHT milk, cereal, tinned meat, fish and vegetables pasta sauces and bread.

Anyone wanting to donate food can use the donation basket in Peterlee’s branch of Asda and people can also find out more by calling (0191) 569 3511.