A LOCAL charity has been targeted by robbers who stole £1,500 and caused significant damage to the premises.

Café Dome in Brighton Hill was broken into on the night of Thursday, 14 September or the early hours of Friday, 15 September, with the staff discovering the break in on the Friday morning.

The community café, is operated by local charity the Café Project, it provides students affected by learning disabilities the opportunity to gain work experience in a real-life catering environment.

The thieves made off with £1,500 after forcing open the safe, they also caused damage to the locks and the front door totalling £528 that must be paid to secure the building.

Carl Manners, Manager at the Café Dome, said: “We had to close the café on Friday in order to clean up the damage and accommodate visits from the police, so we therefore lost another day’s takings.

“Our students have also lost a day’s training, which has really messed with their routine and caused distress.

“We also had to close our Circles club for adults with Learning difficulties on Friday evening, as well as cancelling the Saturday morning Rainbows group and Saturday Afternoon Autism Hub - all of which has an effect on the community.”

The Café Dome, a community café located on Brighton Hill Parade, is where the Café Project delivers its training programme, it is open to the public Monday-Friday 9am-4pm for breakfast and lunches.

The students, staff and volunteers are distraught by the incident as they feel a strong sense of pride and ownership towards the café, they were very upset when they were told the news.

Carl added: “The timing of this crime makes it particularly sad, as we are gathering at the Café Dome next Friday, 29 September for the students’ annual awards presentation and to say goodbye to those who are leaving us this year.

“It is a shame that such a lovely occasion for our students will now be overshadowed by this cruel and senseless act.”

An investigation into the crime is ongoing, and anyone who may have information relating to the incident is being urged to contact the police.

The crime reference number is 44170357240