Children's letters to Santa stolen from a North Tyneside community centre

Staff at Meadow Well Connected community centre, on Waterville Road in North Shields, have taken to social media to express their disappointment after a letters to Santa post box was vandalised and stolen.

It is understood that the post box was at the entrance to the community centre, with staff breaking the bad news in a Facebook post yesterday afternoon (Monday, November 13).

Sarah McDonald, the community development coordinator at the centre, has told NewcastleWorld of the upset that the incident has caused for the staff and people that use the centre.

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She said: "When Covid hit a few years ago, we started to do Santa door visits where we would rely on donations of things like selection boxes and then deliver them to the children who had posted a letter to Santa.

"We have carried that on so now the first 100 children will get a visit from Santa and the elves but now this could mean that some children might miss out as we don't have their letters.

"We came in after the weekend to see the post box destroyed and the letters gone, it is gut wrenching and quite upsetting for the children, their parents and the staff at the centre.

"Some parents request their children's letters back so they can put them in memory boxes but now we can't do that."

Meadow Well Connected is now urging anyone who has posted a letter since Thursday evening (November 9) to get in touch with staff to ensure that all children get a response.

Despite the letters being taken, the community centre is still aiming to make Christmas special for the local community and is still accepting donations for the Santa door visits.

You can get in touch with the centre on 0191 341 0033 to arrange a donation or visit during opening hours.

Meadow Well Connected is open from 9am until 5pm Monday to Thursday and 9am until 3.30pm on Fridays - the community centre is closed on weekends.

The centre will also be running a variety of activities throughout the Christmas period, with more details available at: https://www.facebook.com/meadowwellconnected.