Doncaster charity's stolen laptop made 'useless' to thieves after being wiped

Last month, raiders targeted the home of Eileen Harrington, founder of Doncaster organisation Donmentia, which provides help, support and days out for the town’s dementia patients and their families.

Thieves broke into Eileen’s home in Old Scawthorpe, stealing the Hewlett Packard laptop – which contained names and addresses of the group’s clients as well as information relating to the group’s planned days out.

But Donmentia trustee Brian Bentley said the laptop would be useless after being remotely wiped.

He said: “All info was encrypted and backed up to the cloud as per Charity Commission guidelines.

“We have lost nothing and the laptop was wiped remotely rendering it useless to the thieves.”

The thieves smashed a window at Eileen’s home in broad daylight while she was outside in her garden enjoying some fresh air during lockdown.

She said: “They must have been small, because they squeezed in through quite a small gap and I didn’t hear a thing.

“Fortunately, the only thing they took was the laptop and they must have been very quick.”

Because of the lockdown, Eileen has been forced to cancel a number of planned days out, including a popular summer trip to Cleethorpes.

And with funds drying up for the group, she has started selling books to raise cash.

Anyone who can help can contact Donmentia HERE

If you have information about the burglary, contact police on 101