A SOMERSET youth charity said it has been 'overwhelmed' with donations after a break-in left them unable to carry out their mobile youth work.

Thieves broke into Somerset Rural Youth Project's headquarters in Edington, near Bridgwater, on September 20 and stole a catalytic converter from their van as well as power tools, batteries, saws, socket sets and other equipment.

The club said vandals also smashed windows, damaged desks and filing cabinets and caused damage to the building itself.

Nik Harwood, chief executive of Somerset Rural Youth Project, said the charity was 'gutted' when they discovered what had happened but said they are 'bouncing back' thanks to the support of residents and businesses.

"It has been an absolute nightmare, but we have had a really positive response from people so far," Nik said.

"The thieves took tools and kit which we use during activities with young people and took the catalytic converter from our van so we can't do mobile youth work at the moment.

"Unfortunately a lot of the items that were stolen were donated so we can't claim them back.

"It was clear they were looking for cash, they crowbarred open desks and cabinets but found nothing, the place was completely ransacked.

"Our team's morale was quite low for a few days but we're getting there."

In a bid to recover the funds they lost, the charity, which supports young people in rural areas, set up a GoFundMe fundraising page on Wednesday (September 26) and has already raised £185 of their £1,000 target.

Nik said residents and businesses have donated cash and tools to the charity and said the charity is 'determined' to get back on its feet.

Bridgwater Mercury:

"People in our community have been amazing. They have been donating items to us so we can get back up and running," Nik said.

"We are making claims on our insurance for the bits we can claim on but each claim has an excess of £350 so we decided to set a target of £1,000 so we can afford to buy some new tools to replace the one's we lost.

"We have had a couple of cash donations from local businesses and donations online which has really helped us.

"After our story went on the BBC someone kindly donated a portable generator to us which we were so grateful for.

"I would like to thank everyone who has helped us.

"We are a charity and everyone works flat out here. We have been here for 21 years, we are not a project anymore."

A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said an investigation into the incident is underway.

"We were called at 8.25am on September 20 to a property on Suprema Avenue after reports of a burglary. "Investigations are underway and no arrests have been made.

"If anyone has any information or was in the area overnight and witnessed anything suspicious please call 101 and quote reference 5218211109.

If you would like to donate to the charity click here.