Thieves steal bus from elderly day care centre

A CARE centre at the heart of the community has found itself once again the target of ruthless thieves. Tullow Day Care Centre provides day services for up to 50 elderly people in the locality. Between 5pm on Monday evening and 8.20am this morning, the centre was broken into and the community bus was stolen.

The centre took to social media to appeal to the public for help in tracking down those responsible. ‘Public, we need your help ... Tullow Day Care Centre was broken into again last night. Our grey bus 11WX3387 Peugeot Expert has been stolen. If anyone saw anything between 5pm and 8.20am, please let us know – 059 9151833 or Tullow gardaí,’ the statement read.

The centre has six vehicles, all of which are used to help transport elderly people to and from the day service and to deliver the vital meals-on-wheels service to elderly and vulnerable people in the community.

This is the second time in a matter of weeks that the centre has been targeted. Just last month, thieves stole garden tools, including a power washer, lawnmower and two leaf blowers, from the premises. A huge local effort co-ordinated by Ward’s Fruit and Veg shop in the centre of Tullow saw an outpouring of generosity, with public donations totalling almost €1,600 collected to replace stolen items.

Gardaí in Tullow told The Nationalist that staff arrived onsite this morning and noticed broken glass in the door of the building. It was then found that the vehicle had been stolen. Tullow guards are appealing for any information, including possible sightings of the stolen vehicle, CCTV or dashcam footage, to contact them and say the vehicle remains on the stolen list this evening.