Heartbroken Doncaster scouts brick up windows after burglars vandalise base and leave them with nothing

Burglars broke in to the Askern scouts base and stole its grass cutting equipment as well as 80 Easter eggs which had been bought to give to the group’s young members.

They are now looking at bricking up the windows to prevent any further incidents.

The village scout group leader, who asked not to be named, said: “They went through everything, and even stole the kids’ Easter eggs.

“There are no valuables in there. It was pretty much empty, but they took the petrol strimmer and the chocolate. The strimmer was taken before, but we got it back. It doesn’t like like that is going to happen this time.

“We don’t store valuables in there, and everything has been taken now.

“They even smashed doors inside. This is just heartbreaking for us, we put our time and effort into making the best opportunities that we can for our scouting family.”

“We’ve secured it again, and the community is pulling together. We don’t want donations though. We were offered eggs but said people should give them to people affected by coronavirus related issues who need them more.

“We’ve asked people to come out and cut the grass for from time to time with their own mower, so we don’t need a strimmer in there, and we’ve had a few offers.”

The group is bouncing back, and are looking to brick up the window spaces, which had already been boarded, up, as a security measure.

The items which were stolen in the break-in, thought to be on April 5, had been bought with money raised by the scouts’ own fund raising efforts. They also had a break in in January.

They have not been able to meet as a scout group since social distancing rules kicked in, and have been looking at alternative ways of keeping up with scouting activities.

They have been communicating online so that the scouts can still work towards their badges, with work on things such as boat bulding and knots. There has even been an online campfire, with scouts in tents in their own gardens.

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