Thieves have targeted a community charity shop which supports local people through hard times.

Nearly £1,000 in cash and jewellery was taken from Strood Community Project in the raid on its shop in Strood High Street.

The loss will affect the vital work the charity does within the town which includes help with welfare benefits, skills training and a food bank for those most in need.

Staff arrived on Wednesday last week to find doors smashed down and the office ransacked.

Chief executive Paul Robinson said: “It is particularly sad because it’s probably the type of person who most needs our help who has done us this harm.

“We’ll learn some lessons but we’re not going to be disheartened. We’re still here and we’re still going to support Strood.”

Last year the charity helped nearly 2,000 local people with a range of support including extra tuition for children to prepare for their exams, employability support, budgeting classes and more.

A police spokesman said: “We were called to investigate a burglary at a business premises in High Street, Strood, between 5.20pm on September 27 and 8.45am on September 28. It was reported that cash and jewellery was stolen.”

Earlier this month fundraising shop Give Vintage in St Margaret’s Bank, Rochester, was broken into twice in two weeks after relocating from Maidstone.

Someone smashed the front window of the shop, which sells vintage goods, in an attempt to break in to the store on September 1.

Then, between 4.45pm between Saturday, September 10, and 10.30am on Monday, September 12, someone forced open a window at the back of the shop and managed to get in.

Owner and mental health nurse, Kerry-Ann Maxwell, hopes that once the business starts turning a profit, she will be able to use the money to help people who have been affected by mental health issues.

Anyone with information regarding the break-in at Strood Community Project can call police on 01634 792209.