A COUNTY Durham charity has hit out at vandals for having to foot a £130 bill after becoming the victims of an arson attack earlier this week. 

Lifeline Community Action, who are based in Newton Aycliffe, help to support vulnerable families across County Durham and Darlington with clothes, cleaning & toiletries, household goods and baby items. 

However, the group have now warned that its finances have been "significantly impacted" after its general waste bin was set on fire on Monday (January 10).

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Volunteers working for the charity arrived at the Lifeline facility on Monday morning to find that the rubbish inside had been torched and the outside of the bin had started to melt.    

Following the incident, the charity has now laid bare the impact that this could have on the families it helps - after potentially having to pay costs of up to £130 for a new bin; something that the charity have only had since December.

A spokesperson for Lifeline Community Action said: "We arrived at our Community Hub on Monday to find that someone had set fire to our General Waste bin. Apparently, it happened on Sunday afternoon.

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"As a charity, any unexpected costs reduces the amount of support that we continue to provide to many families across County Durham.

"We have found out that it is going to cost us £130 to have the bin replaced.

"We are shocked and saddened by this as we have only had the bins since December!"

The charity has also condemned the actions of those responsible for the arson - and hope that they're caught for the crime. 

The spokesperson added: "Hopefully this isn't going to happen again and those responsible are found and prosecuted for Criminal Damage. We have not let this deter us from the work we continue to do."

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