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Compton Hospice appeal after stock ruined in suspected arson attack

Compton Hospice today vowed not to be beaten after a fire destroyed thousands of pounds worth of donated goods – as they appealed for people to help them 'restock the shop'.

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The Wolverhampton-based charity was left reeling after two pallets at its store on Wednesfield High Street were set on fire, in what is believed to have been an arson attack.

Even stock that was not burned by the fire will have to be thrown away and replaced after being wrecked by smoke and water damage. And repairs will cost around £5,000.

And the charity will lose out on around £3,000 in sales this week alone from wasted stock.

Compton Hospice shops manager Paul Carter in the shop with the stock that will now have to be replaced

But they are determined to re-open, possibly as early as Saturday lunch time and called for donations to get the shop back in business.

The hospice relies heavily on donations, with only around one third of its funding coming from the Government. It costs more than £6 million a year to run.

The 'restock the shop' campaign will take place from today until Friday and bosses are hoping local people and businesses will be in full support and backing the proposal.

Grace Ruston, spokeswoman for Compton Hospice, said: "Unfortunately as a result of the fire, all of the shop content will no longer be able to be sold because of extensive damage.

"It is very sad for this to have happened so soon after the recent lead and vans thefts at the hospice, but we are determined to keep moving forward and will continue to work hard so that we can deliver the very best level of care for families living with incurable illnesses.

"We'd therefore like to ask the public to consider donating their unwanted items, including clothing, accessories, bric-a-brac, homeware, books, CDs and DVDs to Compton Hospice in order to help us restock our shop. We will be able to accept donations at our Wednesfield store, located on the main Wednesfield High Street, from 10am today."

It is not yet known whether the fire was deliberate and West Midlands Police are continuing to investigate.

It is the latest incident to have affected the charity. In May thieves were caught on CCTV tearing lead from the roof of the Lymphoedema Treatment Centre at their Cedars site on Compton Road West, which treats around 200 adults per week.

They also stole tools from sheds and catalytic converters from the hospice's fleet of charity shop delivery vans, which came to a total cost of around £20,000 in repairs.

General manager for Compton Hospice Paul Carter said: "I got a call in the morning and rushed down to the shop straight away at around 5am. I can't believe there's the chance we've been ruthlessly targeted again, it's like taking two steps forward and three back all the time. To say I'm frustrated wouldn't really do it justice.

"It's just another occurrence in a long line of incidents that have affected not only this shop but many of our others around the area. The volunteers work so hard to maintain and improve the shop so this is just a huge setback for everyone.

"We've probably lost around £3,000 in sales this week and between three to five thousand pounds in the stock that's going to need replacing.

"Restocking a shop usually takes four to five weeks but we're aiming to do this in four to five days. We're going to have to work wonders to get it open."

Police, fire and ambulance services were called to the scene, with eight fire fighters taking just under two hours to clean up the fire.

Cathleen Leer, who has lived in the area for 40 years, described the shop as a 'lovely place', and said it was a 'great shame' the fire had happened.

For information on 'restock the shop' contact Compton Hospice on 0845 2255 497. Anyone with information on the fire should contact West Midlands Police on 101.

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