Staff at two neighboring charity shops have said that they were ‘shocked’ after they arrived to find that both of their store fronts had been vandalised.

 The British Heart Foundation and Cancer Research are popular charity shops located on Broad Street in Reading town centre.

On Monday morning, they found that their glass storefronts had been smashed over the weekend causing a crack in each window. 

A volunteer at the Cancer Research charity shop said: “We were quite shocked when we turned up to the shop and saw that the window had been smashed. This isn’t the first time that it has happened though.

“It’s probably because we are out in the open and vulnerable to vandalism.”

Unlike its counterpart, this is the first time vandals have targeted the British Heart Foundation.

Margaret Richardson, BHF Area Manager, said: “We were shocked and saddened that our store on Broad Street was targeted by vandalism. Incidents like this are not only upsetting for our colleagues, volunteers and customers, but they can also impact our mission to help fund lifesaving research into heart and circulatory diseases.

“We have reported this incident to the police and we will be making repairs to the shop. Our much loved shop remains open for business, and I want to thank everyone in our community who continues to kindly donate good quality items and shop with us.”

Both attacks are thought to have happened over the weekend.

The Chronicle has contacted Thames Valley Police for a comment.