THE TRUE spirit of Christmas has been shining through in Ardrossan as locals get together to help the North Ayrshire Foodbank which was broken in to at the end of November.

And Foodbank organiser Craig Crosthwaite says he has been left ‘so emotional’ at the generosity of the local community.

As we reported last week, the Foodbank, which is based within the Church of the Nazerene, was callously broken in,to leaving the community reeling.

But this weel the community have rallied, and their response has been quite spectacular.

The weight of the cans has even caused damage to part of the floor because there is so much food!

One local company also kindly donated a new burglar alarm system and replaced the Playstation 2 and Nintendo Wii that were taken in the robbery. Invincible Fire and Security fitted the system yesterday (Tuesday) much to the delight of the foodbank.

Organiser Craig Crosthwaite said: “I’ve been so emotional. I’ve been involved with commuinty work for 25 years now and I have never seen anything like this.

“It has been over and above the norm for the festive cheer. Overall we got a lot of sympathy after the break-in. People were saying how they were disgusted and that people would target an organistion like the North Ayrshire Foodbank.

“We have little rescources as it is and things like this just distract from helping. But now we’ve had a burglar alarm fitted which includes motion detector.

A spokesperson for Invincible said: “We read the story in the paper and we decided that we would help. We contacted the foodbank and they were very grateful. We’ve installed cameras throughout and provided the labour free of charge. We also decided to replace the PS2 and the Wii and we’re also giving a Wii Fit Board as an extra surprise. Hopefully this will act as a detterent.” The messages of support that have been pouring in to the social media pages of the foodbank have been non-stop and the generosity has been the same.

Craig added: “One man popped in and donated £100. It’s things like this that make us so appreciative and overwhelmed.” The kindness of the community has had a slight negative effect on the storage but of the food but a plan is in action to combat this.

“The weight of the cans in one corner of the floor in the room where the food is stored has caved in”, explained Craig, “There used to be a cellar below it and we laughed that we would have to use that but it seems we have jinxed ourselves. Dalry Community Windfarm Group, a beneficiary of the foodbank, are looking to purchase a portakbin but we want to go about it the correct way with North Ayrshire Council planning.” Craig added: “It doesn’t matter what has happened, we are here to help whoever we can. The community has been galvanised and we will continue. I want to thank everyone and express our gratitude to the kindness that has been shown.” If you would like to get involved in the foodbank, visit www.northayrshire.foodbank.org.uk or find them on Facebook or Twitter.

A spokesperson for North Ayrshire Police said that enquiries were ongoing into the break-in on November 28.