Larder staff have thanked the local community for their support after vandals smashed their shop windows during a night of trouble in the city centre.
Around 10pm last night (Wednesday 26 January), staff from the Preston cafe were messaged by police, who notified them that somebody had smashed their shop windows between 8 and 9pm.
Upon arrival, The Larder’s Aimee Johnson discovered that the vandals had broken all six panes, with two smashed and littering the shop floor with glass.
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In a Facebook Live video at the scene, Aimee said: “Around 10pm, I got a message that the police had been around – someone has smashed the windows really badly.
“It’s like every window – the lovely, beautiful, big windows have been smashed – every massive pane of glass. Every pane is going to have to be replaced.
“Why? Are you that bored that you have to do that?”
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Higher Walton Glass attended the scene to board up the windows and ensure the premises were secure, returning today (Thursday 27 January) to remove the panes.
Larder staff member Evie said: “It seems that there was a lot of trouble in the city centre last night.
“The impression we’ve got is that it is most likely them that’s done this. We were told a few different places around town have been hit as well.”
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Evie said the experience had shaken staff, with them all left confused as to why somebody would cause damage to the property.
Larder staff, who were forced to close the shop and now face a loss of income, hope that their insurance will cover the cost of the damages, but they expect a hefty price tag.
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Evie said: “Reopening after Covid, it’s been quite difficult for us financially.
“And then this isn’t the first time it’s happened. Somebody has broken one of the windows before, and that got fixed.
“Somebody then broke the pane of glass in the door, and that got fixed just before Christmas. It’s going to be really difficult for us to pay this bill.”
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The Larder plans to fundraise to meet the cost but does not believe donors should leave empty-handed.
They said they encourage those wishing to offer support to join Friends of the Larder for £12 and receive member benefits.
Evie said: “We don’t want to take people’s money – we still want to give things back.”
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Since the incident, The Larder has been ‘inundated’ with messages from well-wishers and residents asking how they can help and offer support.
The Larder thanked the community for their kind words.
Evie said: “We all came in this morning a bit down. It’s nice to see that so many people in the community have gone out their way to show support.”
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