A CHARITY that helps adults with learning disabilities gain new skills has been targeted by thieves for a third time this year.

Staff at Daybreak in Coundon, near Bishop Auckland, feel it is no longer safe to leave any property in the garden overnight after a wooden table and chair set was stolen on Monday night (August 15th).

It is the latest in a string of thefts since the charity took over the former Tees Walk Community Centre in January.

Previous incidents include the theft of garden benches and handmade bird boxes created by the people who access the charity’s services.

Maggie Leadbeater, manager of Daybreak in Coundon, said the charity had spent a great deal of time and effort improving the garden and held regular fundraising events to pay for outdoor furniture and other additions.

She said: “It would take a full event and a lot of work to raise enough money to replace the seat, and the bird boxes that were stolen were up for sale so we have lost revenue that way too. We just daren’t leave anything outside anymore for fear it will get stolen.”

CCTV cameras at the centre captured two people stealing the item -described as a love seat with two chairs connected by a small table - at 11pm.

It had recently been painted and was worth just over £100.

Ms Leadbeater said the charity had received a warm welcome from Coundon residents, who she is sure are just as upset about the thefts as her.

“The people of Coundon have been really welcoming and supportive,”she said. “It is not always easy to move into a new area when you run a service like this but they have been really good to us.”

Daybreak runs three centres across the North-East, with other hubs located in Hexham in Northumberland and Montagu in Newcastle.

Each hub provides a place for people with learning disabilities to acquire new skills, make friends and work with people in the community. Its independent living skills programme is tailored to each individual’s needs and focuses on everything from healthy living and cooking, to travel training, relationships and employment.

Other activities include woodcraft and gardening, with the sale of fruit, vegetables and wooden items also providing the charity with an additional income.

Anyone with information about the theft or thinks they may have seen the love seat is asked to contact PC Alex Riley or PCSO Christopher Elms at Durham Police on 101 number or crime stoppers anonymously on 0800-555-111.