Appeal quickly makes £600 for Melton Country Park cafe after break-in

New doors and windows are needed, plus an upgraded security system, following the raid on the premises which is open to park visitors every day of the week.

Organisers set up an online funding page to raise money for the repairs and this morning (Monday) it had already generated £679 towards the £1,000 target.

People have pledged amounts ranging from £5 to £100 with many praising the service the cafe offers.

Jeanette Hodgkinson, one of the people involved with the cafe, told the Melton Times: “The response has been amazing.

“It’s heart-warming that so many people in the community care so much about the cafe.

“After I put the online fundraising page up it was up to £100 within half-an-hour and when I woke up in the morning the total just kept rising.

“Everyone loves the country park and it’s clear they love the cafe too.”

The intruders took out a pane of glass to gain access to the cafe building and among the items stolen was a tablet computer.

Jeanette and her colleagues have asked for donations to replace all the windows so they are more secure and upgrade doors and locks.

They will have to clear any work with Melton Borough Council, which owns the building but leases it out.

Kettell Windows, based at East Goscote, and Melton-based TruFrame, have offered to team up to provide the new windows and install them securely.

Lisa Kettell, sales and marketing director at Kettell Windows, said they would be meeting cafe staff to see what the work involved.

She said: “My husband, John, who is a director, saw a Facebook post about the break-in and he wanted to help.

“Ourselves along with TruFrame are offering to donate all new windows and doors to the cafe and fit them to make it secure and safer.

“Both of our businesses are local and we are passionate about supporting services accessible to the community.”

The running of the cafe was taken over in March 2019 by Melton Space, a non-profit organisation made up of people who make and fix items and share ideas and skills, who staffed it with volunteers.

Sunny Skies Enterprise CIC, a community group which supports people with learning disabilities, then teamed up with Melton Space last summer to help run it with their supported volunteers.

Go to www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/jeanette-hodgkinson-1 to pledge money towards the cafe repairs.