Liverpool cafe that serves homeless broken into for third time in fortnight
A JustGiving page has been set up to help beef up security
A Liverpool cafe that helps the homeless has been broken into for the third time in a fortnight.
A front window at Paper Cup Coffee has been shattered.
The shop has had to be closed today because of the damage caused and so forensic work can be carried out.
CEO Michelle Langan said:
"We've learned from the other times there's nothing of value left on the premises so whoever has done it is coming in and looking for money, but there's nothing here now for them to take.
"They've taken the draw out of the till today, but there was nothing in it, just two pences and stuff like that. It's a crime for very little reward.
"We've just got to try and keep going. We're trying to beef up our security and try and make it more difficult for people to do this again, that's all we can do really.
"I don't want every couple of days to be getting a call to say that our shop has been smashed up. It's horrible, really horrible."
After the second break-in, Ms Langan set up a JustGiving page to try and raise vital funds to help with the effect of the break-in and to help improve security.
Support has been flooding in on the fundraiser and online, including from Charlatans star Tim Burgess.
Ms Langan says they've been unable to help the homeless because of what's happened.
"We've had some of them turning up this morning to get drinks and to get food and we can't do anything because there's glass everywhere.
"My staff can't do anything until the police have been. We can't open the shop, we can't serve anyone and we have had a few homeless people who are frustrated and some of them take it out on us because we can't give them a coffee and we can't give them some breakfast.
"We've already had someone coming in to look at setting up the CCTV and that's all been ordered, but obviously that can't happen overnight.
"That is coming. A lot of people have said 'why don't you get shutters?'
"That would be great if we've got a spare £30,000-£40,000 to put shutters over the shop because we've got a lot of glass. We haven't got that type of money.
"I know people are saying they'll give to the JustGiving page which is great, but I doubt very much that we're going to raise £40,000 to cover the whole place in shutters.
"Whatever measures we can afford to put in place we're going to put into place."
The JustGiving page can be found here.