Mindless destruction

At around 8 p.m. on 9th August, a gang of hooded young people went into an NCP car park where Age Concern Leicester Shire & Rutland park ten of their specially adapted ambulances overnight. They entered the car park armed with petrol bombs – picked out one of the vehicles, broke a window and threw a petrol bomb in. The ambulance was totally destroyed and the one next to it badly scorched and damaged.
 
Tony Donovan, Executive Director said: “We are all totally devastated by this mindless act. Our ambulances transport very frail people – many of them with dementia - to our day centres. Those who attend a day care centre are some of the most vulnerable in the community. They are all assessed by Adult Social Care as needing the service – without it, these people who fall in to the local authority’s critical banding level would be in care. The centre affected is based in the middle of the city serving inner city people. Those who committed the crime (city based people) have badly hurt/damaged the older members of their own community
 
Whilst we managed to put temporary contingency arrangements in to place, we will not be able to achieve this in the longer term, though we are so grateful to local supporters who are rallying round.
 
The vehicle was not new and so we are unlikely to get much back on insurance. To replace it however – bearing in mind it is purpose built we will have to find in the region of £45,000.”
 
If you can help with a donation, please use this link: https://www.charitychoice.co.uk/donation.asp?ref=51165
or write to Age Concern Leicester Shire & Rutland, Lansdowne House, 113 Princess Road East, Leicester LE1 7LA, marking payments “Ambulance”.

The website address is: www.ageconcernleics.com