Owners of a charity shop which has only been open for three months, are appealing for public support after they found their shop broken into this morning.

Jenny McAvoy and Anna Hart, directors of Action Station NW CIC, opened their shop at 212 Elliott Street, Tyldesley in March with the idea of raising money which will then go directly to community charities and projects in the immediate local area.

And now the team of volunteers and staff have been left feeling devastated after they found the window at the front of the shop smashed with the till missing.

They say this has set them back "considerably" especially as they felt like they were in a position to start giving money back to the community.

Jenny and Anna are appealing to the community to help them any way they can so they can replace the till, repair the damage, and put in measures to prevent further break-ins such as cameras and shutters.

Jenny said: “I came in to open up this morning at about 8.15am and there is a big hole in the window at the front of the shop and when I came in the till had been taken.

“So, what appears to have happened is the till has been taken straight through the hole in the window because they have not entered the shop at all and nothing else has been taken.

“There is a collection tub on the counter and that is still here, so it seems to be an opportunistic smash and grab.

“They really had to go at the window with a brick because there is a brick outside that is smashed to smithereens.

“So, they have had to make a concerted effort to get in.

“There wasn’t a lot of money in the till, it was all just coppers really because we don’t keep any proper money on the premises, so actually the damage they have caused to the building and the cost of the till itself is more than what they have got away with.

“And we have not been able to open today so we have lost at least today’s takings.

The Bolton News: Smashed windowSmashed window (Image: Action Station NW CIC)

“I just started crying when I walked in to be honest because we have been working so hard to get this up and running and tried to build up some money so we can start giving it away and we were literally talking about the fact we are now in a position to start giving some money back to the community and now this has set us back a couple of months.

“We don’t have £200 lying around to replace the till and we can’t afford to just close up for the day and lose a day’s takings because working as a charity shop, we are living on the edge of marginal profits.

“We are appealing for people to dig deep and give what they can to help us get back on our feet and back to doing what we do best – raising money for others.

“We need to replace the till, repair the damage, and put in measures to prevent it happening again so we are hoping to fundraise enough to cover the cost of a camera and shutters.

“Police and crime scene investigation have been to the shop, and they have advised us to install a camera.”

Anna said: “We are all just devastated, we have a small group of volunteers, and they have all called today and said how gutted they are.

“We are a tight little group here and everyone has been so welcoming, and this is just a massive blow really to what has been a positive three months.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police said: “At around 8:30am this morning (Tuesday 4 July) Greater Manchester Police were made aware of a premises which had been burgled on Elliott Street, Tyldesley.

“CSI have attended the property and an investigation is underway.”

If you would like to help the charity shop to implement measures to protect them in the future, you can donate here: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/actionstationbreakinfund

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno