Helping Hands Dalby appeals for public information after children’s clothes stolen

A Western Downs charity says it has been targeted by thieves at least five times in the past year, with two bags of children's clothes being stolen at the weekend. Find out more.

A local charity has been left in dismay after a thief stole bags of donated goods meant for the community.

In a post to Facebook, Dalby’s Helping Hands Outreach Project showed camera footage where a car can be seen pulling up before the driver gets out and begins loading his vehicle with the bags.

“In the early hours of the morning someone turned up and decided to check the bins and they took two big bags that were all children's clothes,” Helping Hands Outreach Project Dalby’s branch manager Lizzie Harvey said.

“They would’ve been sorted and put in the shop or given to families in need.

“It's very disappointing, I do get a bit angry at times because we are here to help people and they take from the community, I have been here a year and its happened about four or five times.

“The community donates to us in good faith that we distribute between our shop and those that need help.”

Dalby’s Helping Hands Outreach Project has been targeted by thieves who stole children's clothes that had been donated to the Western Downs charity.

She offered a stern warning to anyone who thought it was appropriate to steal from a charity

“Just don’t do it, come and see us if it is genuine and they need the help come and see us,” she said.

“I cannot fathom why people steal from the community.

“It’s sad I think it's opportunistic more than anything else.”

Dalby’s Helping Hands Outreach Project has been targeted by thieves who stole children's clothes that had been donated to the Western Downs charity.

Ms Harvey previously said that people were needing more help than ever and thieves like these were impacting those doing it tough.

“We are seeing between 10 and 20 people a week for hampers between those that are homeless and those who can’t afford food,” she said.

“It has increased probably 50 per cent within just the past year.

“We are seeing people mainly coming in for food, and heading into winter we have people looking for blankets and pillows.

Dalby’s Helping Hands Outreach Project has been targeted by thieves who stole children's clothes that had been donated to the Western Downs charity.

“One of the biggest issues at this time of the year is the cold, we have people living in tents, so we have a blanket drive on at the moment, we are looking for any bedding we can get.

“We are seeing more people pushed to the street with the rental crisis and we are seeing a very diverse range of people needing our services including working couples.”

Ms Harvey said she had reported the previous thefts to the police who had handled the issues and would be doing the same with the recent robbery.