Thieves steal £7,000 worth of tools from hospice

Thieves have stolen maintenance and repair equipment worth more than £7,000 after breaking into a hospice.

The tools were taken from the Sue Ryder Manorlands Hospice, in Oxenhope, near Keighley, in the early hours of Wednesday, the organisation said.

West Yorkshire Police said inquiries into the break-in "remain ongoing" and have appealed to anyone with information to get in touch.

Adam Brunkskill, regional fundraising team manager at the hospice, said: "Every penny we spend on replacing tools and repairing the damage is money that we would much rather be putting towards caring for patients and supporting their families."

John Skilton, the site's supervisor, said its maintenance team had been left without the equipment needed to carry out "basic jobs" on the site.

He said the thieves had "taken anything they could get their hands on" after cutting locks to force entry into a workshop and gardeners' shed.

The stolen equipment includes power tools, hand tools, plumbing supplies, screws and gardening equipment.

He said some of tools stolen had been in his collection for about 50 years, adding: "Those tools are like a suit of clothes to a tradesperson."

He said: "We've done an inventory and the replacement cost of everything is around £7,000, and that's not including the personal tools belonging to staff.

"We weren't even able to repair the damage at first because we didn't have the tools to do it."

The charity's site in Oxenhope provides palliative care and supports people with life-limiting conditions, as well as their families.

"We rely on donations to fund our care, so this kind of unexpected expense puts extra pressure on an already stretched budget," said Brunkskill.

According to its website, 70% of the cost of running palliative care services comes from fundraising.

Some of this money would now be diverted to replace the missing tools, a spokesperson said.

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