Hospice appeals for help after break-in attempts

Masked men broke into the grounds of a hospice in an incident its boss described as "distressing" for patients and staff.

Temporary fencing around Rotherham Hospice was damaged by two intruders, who accessed the site at about 17:00 BST on Wednesday.

The hospice said a neighbour spotted the men and shouted at them, prompting them to flee.

It followed a similar incident at the premises at the end of last week, leading the hospice to issue a fundraising appeal for £15,000 to urgently improve security at the site.

Police said it was investigating criminal damage at the hospice on Broom Road and appealed for members of the public with information to get in touch.

The temporary fencing had only been erected last month after damage was caused to the hospice's permanent site boundary.

Although nothing was taken by intruders, the hospice said it believed they were looking for "tools and other items to steal".

The hospice's nearby charity shop and donation centre have themselves been recently targeted by thieves on separate occasions in recent weeks.

Mat Cottle-Shaw, the hospice's chief executive, said: "It's really distressing for the staff and it's also really distressing for our patients.

"Their safety is absolutely paramount and ultimately we are here for the people of Rotherham.

"It's really disappointing to think that it's members of our community that are targeting us in this way, stealing from our retail stores and breaking and entering the hospice grounds."

Besides an immediate appeal for £15,000, the hospice said the incidents had prompted it to bring forward its longer-term fundraising appeal for £750,000.

This would be to finance a dedicated bereavement centre on an adjacent property, alongside therapeutic woodland and better access for patients' families.

Cottle-Shaw said: "It will give us an environment to provide counselling away from the hospice and out in nature and also it allows us to expand our current car park, because parking is so tight at the hospice.

"When loved ones come to the site the last thing they want to be thinking about is parking and trying to get parked when they want to see their loved one and every minute counts."

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