Keep Us on the Road
Heartless thieves butchered fuel tanks on our charity vehicles - causing more than £15k damage. Help us rebuild our fleet!
This is the moment cruel thugs sawed our fuel tanks on charity vehicles - causing more than £15,000 of damage in just one night.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-autism-society-sunderland-16216520
With the generosity of our community and local businesses we hope to attract funds to recoup our costs, or indeed through people gifting their time and resources in kind - get our vehicles back on the road.
Currently the damaged vehicles are being assessed and we've had to pay for them to be taken off site. The site is now being surveyed ahead of the clean up operation - which is expected to cost thousands. This is all before insurance excesses, increases to premiums, fixing the damage on the cars and increased security.
The staff cars and minibuses - parked in the North East Autism Society’s Emmsworth site in Sunderland - are used by autistic children and young people for off-site curriculum education.
Students who are not able to be taught in a classroom environment rely on the vehicles to access their education in a community setting.
Many of the users could also struggle if their routine is changed or their surroundings are not what they expected.
Five vehicles – a mix of cars and mini buses - have been left completely ruined by the thieves.
John Phillipson, chief executive officer for the North East Autism Society, has labelled the impact of the theft and damage caused as "devastating" on the charity.
He said: “Our staff turned up yesterday morning [Wednesday] to see what initially looked like a fuel leak in the car park.
"On closer inspection it became clear that the tanks on multiple vehicles had been destroyed. It wasn’t until we looked at the CCTV that we realised the extent of this campaign of heartless vandalism.
“There’s no doubt about it, it was deliberate, calculated and designed to give the thieves a quick hit – but the impact on us is devastating.”
It is believed two men climbed into the fenced compound by sliding down the branches of a nearby tree.
The pair were armed with buckets, bottles and kitchen basins, ready to saw off diesel tanks before making off with the fuel.
The thieves spent almost five hours between 9.40pm on Tuesday 30th April night and 2.30am on Monday 1st May crudely butchering the fuel tanks.
No alarms were triggered, and despite lights within the compound illuminating the site the crime spree went unreported.
It’s thought so much fuel was spilled that the men probably only made off with diesel with a street value of less than £100 – despite damage costing five figures.
The charity had to ground 10 vehicles until the safety of each car and mini bus could be assessed.
The car park also had to be cordoned off until fire crews gave the all clear as a mix of petrol and diesel had been spilled. Northumbria Water and environmental health assessors were also called.
Chris Dempster, director of education for the North East Autism Society, said: “It takes a certain type of person who would deliberately and calculatingly steal from a charity.
"We don’t just have a spare £15,000 lying around to fix this – and that’s before we think about the hike in our insurance bills that will come from this. If there’s a business out there that feels they want to help us recoup the costs of this, any help would be very much appreciated.
“The loss of a mini bus may not seem much – but for autistic people, expecting their normal routine, expecting their familiar environments, and expecting their day to go as planned, it’s devastating.
"As a charity we’ve just invested in a fleet of new vehicles to keep our staff and service users safe. It’s a cruel blow.”
Northumbria Police confirmed inquiries are ongoing.
If you can help with these, or indeed support us in any way we would be eternally grateful.
We will issue regular updates as and when details emerge of the full extent and detail of the repairs, so the community know in which way they can best help.
Thank you.
This is the moment cruel thugs sawed our fuel tanks on charity vehicles - causing more than £15,000 of damage in just one night.
https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-autism-society-sunderland-16216520
With the generosity of our community and local businesses we hope to attract funds to recoup our costs, or indeed through people gifting their time and resources in kind - get our vehicles back on the road.
Currently the damaged vehicles are being assessed and we've had to pay for them to be taken off site. The site is now being surveyed ahead of the clean up operation - which is expected to cost thousands. This is all before insurance excesses, increases to premiums, fixing the damage on the cars and increased security.
The staff cars and minibuses - parked in the North East Autism Society’s Emmsworth site in Sunderland - are used by autistic children and young people for off-site curriculum education.
Students who are not able to be taught in a classroom environment rely on the vehicles to access their education in a community setting.
Many of the users could also struggle if their routine is changed or their surroundings are not what they expected.
Five vehicles – a mix of cars and mini buses - have been left completely ruined by the thieves.
John Phillipson, chief executive officer for the North East Autism Society, has labelled the impact of the theft and damage caused as "devastating" on the charity.
He said: “Our staff turned up yesterday morning [Wednesday] to see what initially looked like a fuel leak in the car park.
"On closer inspection it became clear that the tanks on multiple vehicles had been destroyed. It wasn’t until we looked at the CCTV that we realised the extent of this campaign of heartless vandalism.
“There’s no doubt about it, it was deliberate, calculated and designed to give the thieves a quick hit – but the impact on us is devastating.”
It is believed two men climbed into the fenced compound by sliding down the branches of a nearby tree.
The pair were armed with buckets, bottles and kitchen basins, ready to saw off diesel tanks before making off with the fuel.
The thieves spent almost five hours between 9.40pm on Tuesday 30th April night and 2.30am on Monday 1st May crudely butchering the fuel tanks.
No alarms were triggered, and despite lights within the compound illuminating the site the crime spree went unreported.
It’s thought so much fuel was spilled that the men probably only made off with diesel with a street value of less than £100 – despite damage costing five figures.
The charity had to ground 10 vehicles until the safety of each car and mini bus could be assessed.
The car park also had to be cordoned off until fire crews gave the all clear as a mix of petrol and diesel had been spilled. Northumbria Water and environmental health assessors were also called.
Chris Dempster, director of education for the North East Autism Society, said: “It takes a certain type of person who would deliberately and calculatingly steal from a charity.
"We don’t just have a spare £15,000 lying around to fix this – and that’s before we think about the hike in our insurance bills that will come from this. If there’s a business out there that feels they want to help us recoup the costs of this, any help would be very much appreciated.
“The loss of a mini bus may not seem much – but for autistic people, expecting their normal routine, expecting their familiar environments, and expecting their day to go as planned, it’s devastating.
"As a charity we’ve just invested in a fleet of new vehicles to keep our staff and service users safe. It’s a cruel blow.”
Northumbria Police confirmed inquiries are ongoing.
If you can help with these, or indeed support us in any way we would be eternally grateful.
We will issue regular updates as and when details emerge of the full extent and detail of the repairs, so the community know in which way they can best help.
Thank you.
Fundraising team: North East Autism Society (2)
Kevin Meikle
Organizer
NORTH EAST AUTISM SOCIETY
Registered nonprofit
Donations eligible for Gift Aid.
Lindsay Bruce
Team member
