A  CCTV image of the person who stole goods on September 11

A FOOD bank in Queen’s Crescent was broken into during the early hours of Wednesday morning last week. Employees at the Queen’s Crescent Community Association (QCCA), Ashdown Crescent, watched CCTV footage in horror as they saw a masked person stealing mince, steak and chicken worth £100 from their freezers and three iPads used by the nursery.

The news comes a week after £3,000 worth of stock was taken from a food bank in Peckham on September 8.

Using the tracking devices on the iPad, QCCA were able to track the technology to a location close by, leading them to think the perpetrator lives locally.

CEO Foyezur Miah said: “We can see that they broke in through the rear fire exit, or perhaps a nursery entrance, which we have at the bottom by the garden. They were wearing a hoodie, mask and head torch, so they came pretty prepared.

“We were gutted and disappointed, as well as surprised. I think all of those all at once. Surprised by the fact that they went specifically for food items, and the fact that he didn’t go into any other parts of the building – that was kind of the shocking bit.

“We were having a bit of a debate in terms of the state of the area, and so the fact that they came straight for the protein items probably tells us something. They weren’t really interested in anything else.”

QCCA volunteer Evelyn Nelson (left) with food band coordinator Emma Jones

The burglar rifled through fridges of yoghurts – used by the food bank – but didn’t seem interested. Instead they made off with large packets of meat from the freezer that were going to be used by QCCA’s lunch club for older people.

Mr Miah explained: “We prepare food every Wednesday for the older people for them to come in. It’s cooked and prepared for by Feast, a large charitable organisation, that provides a chef who volunteers and makes food to a very high standard.

“The idea of the lunch club is really to create a space where people can access nutritional meals. It works as more of a triage to other services. It’s a space where people come in and socialise and befriend people.”

Police were called the same day and there have been no arrests. Anyone with information relating to this incident should call police on 101 quoting 2760/11SEP.