Cash stolen from wishing well at horse welfare charity Bransby Horses

During its closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic money was stolen from the charity, which is dedicated to improving the lives of horses, donkeys and mules, between 4pm on Sunday, July 11, and 8am on Wednesday, July 14.

A spokesman from Bransby Horses said: “As a charity we rely solely on support from donations to keep the charity going, so any loss of income through theft or damaged caused due to vandalism has a huge detrimental impact.

"Many regular visitors know that we have a wishing well on site near our children’s play park and we encourage visitors to donate spare change and make a wish. We are sad to report the contents of our wishing well were recently stolen.

"The incident took place while we were closed to the public so there is also the issue of trespassing, both of which have been reported to the police.

"Not only is it distressing to know someone would go to these lengths to steal from a charity, but the spare change people toss into the well soon adds up and provides essential funding to help us continue our work rescuing and rehabilitating equines in need."

In addition to the theft, 13 in memoriam plaques have also been damaged.

A spokesman said: “We discovered some of the plaques had been kicked down while others have been scratched rendering the inscriptions illegible.

"It is heartbreaking to know someone has attacked these plaques. Furthermore, there is a cost involved to fix or replace the plaques and as you can imagine, this completely unforeseen spending will have an impact on the charity’s finances.

"Bransby Horses has and will continue to contact those affected by the damage and fix or replace any damaged plaques and we are taking steps to discourage any further acts of vandalism.

"It goes without saying that we are deeply saddened by these events and are treating the matter seriously, working with the local police.

"Should anyone have any information about these incidents, please get in touch on 01427 788 464 or [email protected].”