Managing director Andy Soroka with Cylfe i Dyfu clients.
Comments (0)
A PROJECT which helps former offenders back into employment says it faces huge challenges with its work, after being targeted by a thief who made off with cash and important office tools.
Social enterprise Cyfle i Dyfu helps marginalised people find work through intensive carpentry skills training and producing wood products, and was spreading the word about its work at the market held in the marina last Sunday.
But as project founder Andy Soroka and some of the service users were speaking with visitors to the market, a rucksack containing cash, a cheque book, an order book and memory stick was snatched from the front seat of their van.
READ MORE: Teenage driver had passed his test three days before crash that killed four people, inquest hears
Andy, who set-up the project five years ago with redundancy money from a previous job within the criminal justice system, said the theft means they will struggle to carry out their work over the coming weeks.
He said: "I'm bitterly disappointed. There was our cheque book and about £200 in the bag, which isn't a huge amount, but is valuable to us as a not-for-profit organisation. But of more importance for is our order delivery book for the next two weeks. Without it, we don't know where our orders for the next two weeks are going, nor do we have the contact details of our customers to inform them. And the memory stick had about twenty years worth of work I have done on it.
"I suppose it is ironic that this is happening to me now. I worked for Turning Point, which helps prisoners in Swansea and Neath who are coming out of prison. I turned down redeployment to get Cyfle i Dyfu going, so this has left a bit of a bitter taste".
Project users have spent time looking around the marina over the past few days, in the hope they might find the abandoned bag, while Andy has issued an appeal for anyone who might know information to contact them.
He added: "A woman saw a man get in the front of our van, and thought he was part of what we were doing. But when she realised what he was doing, he was too far away. He jumped on a bike he had left by The Pump House and rode off. God knows what I would have done if I had got my hands on him".
The suspect is described as approximately 5 ft 6 ins, with black hair, grey tracksuit, and was aged in his late 20's /early 30's. Anyone with information should contact police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, quoting occurrence number 1600125584.
Read more: http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/Thief-targets-project-helps-ex-offenders/story-29097167-detail/story.html#ixzz45i04FNET
Follow us: @SWEveningPost on Twitter | SWEveningPost on Facebook
No comments:
Post a Comment