Wigan Youth Zone charity bus wrecked by heartless vandals

Vandals have put a charity minibus out of action for several weeks after smashing a large side window, damaging its interior and then activating a fire extinguisher inside it.
By Liam Soutar
Published 27th May 2021, 09:04 BST
Damage to Wigan Youth Zone's busDamage to Wigan Youth Zone's bus
Damage to Wigan Youth Zone's bus

Staff and members at Wigan Youth Zone made the shocking discovery on Saturday Afternoon upon return from Anglesark Reservoir.

After a day of escaping to the great outdoors learning to rock climb, members were left with a four hour wait to get home. Although the bus was in a secure car park, Vandals had smashed the large side window of the accessible minibus to gain entry to then deface the interior by triggering a fire extinguisher and stole personal items.

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The 17 seater vehicle would usually help members get to Wigan Youth Zone, a free service for young people around the Wigan Borough. More recently the bus has been used for weekly outdoor trips to local natural beauty spots, delivering lockdown activity packs and food parcels to households facing significant hardship during the pandemic.

Damage to Wigan Youth Zone's busDamage to Wigan Youth Zone's bus
Damage to Wigan Youth Zone's bus

Chris Quigley, Climbing wall and DofE Coordinator at Wigan Youth Zone says “The outdoor trips have been incredibly popular with our members, for some it’s the first time they have left Wigan in over a year. We have done all we possibly can to be self-sufficient and innovative to keep the outdoor programme going [during the pandemic], so to have all the efforts…kicked in the teeth by mindless hooliganism is heart breaking.”

Wigan Youth Zone relies on donations and support from business investments along with kind donations from the local community. Every donation goes towards helping young people of Wigan and Leigh to discover a world of possibilities and create the future they deserve.

To can donate to Wigan Youth Zone here; https://www.wiganyouthzone.org/donate/

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