Scunthorpe charity devastated by break-in at its town centre headquarters

Burglars have left staff and clients of a Scunthorpe charity which helps autistic children devastated.

Magic Moments For Autistic Kids suffered a break-in at its Cole Street property on Saturday, September 22.

As well as £300 cash, a variety of other items were taken.

Pat Ebbs, who started Magic Moments with her husband Matthew in 2002, said: "The children are very upset and finding it hard to take it all in.

"I am devastated and we are all in complete shock.

"Everywhere is a complete mess and I cannot believe it.

"People have been very kind offering support and help.

"We are like a family and have all come together to support each other.

"The police were here quickly after the thieves set off the alarm but they still got away with enough to deeply upset us.

"We are in massive shock and I am not sleeping very well."

Mrs Ebbs' daughter, Lisa Cryer, 39, discovered the scene and was very angry.

She said: "The place was a mess and there must be thousands of pounds of equipment stolen.

"All the alcohol we had been collecting as prizes for our charity raffle has been stolen.

"I am still in shock and disbelief.

"Everyone has been very supportive and we have had offers from help on Facebook from America."

Mrs Cryer said Magic Moments had shut its cafe until the premises is made secure again.

And the group is now paying to have extra security features installed on the building.

Ross Cryer regularly helps out at Magic Moments and has been involved in the charity since it was set up.

He said: "I felt angry that somebody would sink that low. I use the back room for band sessions and the thieves have broken some of our equipment. I don't feel safe now and am worried the people will come back."

Barry Rollo, 23, has been volunteering at Magic Moments for 10 years.

He said: "It was a shock to hear we had been broken into.

"I used to use the PS3 quite often and I am sad I won't be able to do that anymore.

"The younger members love playing Wii games and the PS3 so are really upset that these were stolen. Knowing somebody has been into our centre scares me."

A spokeswoman for Humberside Police said the force was investigating the incident.

She said: "Damage was caused to two windows at the property and cash, a PS3, a number of PlayStation games, a selection of alcohol and two laptops have been stolen."

Anyone with information should call police on 101, quoting crime reference 1931890.