Thieves steal tools worth £1,000 from break-in at Northampton care home

Northamptonshire Police are appealing for witnesses after a break in at a care home in Lumbertubs Lane, between 6pm on Wednesday night and 10am Thursday morning.

The offenders came through a fence panel and broke into a summer house - which one of the autistic residents had bought with his own money - and stole about £1,000 of tools.

Laurie Duggan, managing director of Ryan QC Homes which supports adults with learning disabilities, said: "I don't know if we are going to get anything back, it seems really bad taste in today's climate.

"I'm disappointed somebody would do something like that to a group of vulnerable adults - they have all felt very unsettled."

Builders - who have been safely socially distancing - were working in the care home garden this week building some raised vegetable beds, sinking a trampoline to make it safe and finishing building a summer house for residents to enjoy.

Among the £1,000 of tools stolen was also a whacker plate on hire from Travis Perkins.

The property was once Laurie's family home in 1988 before she turned it into a care home ten years on.

She added: "We were just trying to revamp the garden for the summer.

"In winter the tree surgeon cut back all the trees to let more light into the garden, and Workbridge had donated a lot of plants to us.

"It's very sad, obviously our guys are all in lockdown, they do go out locally for some exercise but they were relying on us to get the garden finished to give them full access and we were adding more interesting bits to the garden for them."