Food for veterans stolen from young cadets' base

Food intended for veterans has been stolen from a young cadets' base in an act branded "sickening" by one parent.

Guisborough's detachment of Cleveland Cadets was broken into earlier this week and the food was stolen alongside IT equipment, Cleveland Police confirmed.

Lesley Hakin, whose 13-year-old son Harry is an Army cadet, said: "It's sickening, there is so much crime happening in Guisborough at the minute - it's terrible."

She said the detachment had been damaged and was left in a "really bad state".

The children had collected food donations for veterans as part of a charity event, which were stolen alongside selection boxes the adults had bought for the children, Ms Hakin said.

She has launched a fundraising page to help the cadets replace the stolen items and help with repair costs, which has already raised more than £1,400.

"I've been overwhelmed by what the community have put together - it's so lovely," she said.

She added: "Because we've got so many problems at the moment with vandalism in the community from a lot of the teenagers, [the cadets] is a good place for the kids to go for them to be able to socialise and learn skills and that's why a lot of the community have come together to help them out."

Cleveland Police said the break-in happened between Tuesday and Thursday evening at the cadets' Park Lane building.

They are appealing for anyone with information or footage, such as from CCTV or dashcam, to contact them.

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