A CHARITY is facing a £400 bill after its Guiseley shop was targeted by mindless arsonists.

Vandals set fire to the bin outside the Sue Ryder shop for the second time in two months - forcing the charity to pay for replacements from cash which could have been used for hospice care.

Now the charity has spoken out against the arson attacks which are forcing it to waste valuable resources.

Shop Manager Debbie Brayshaw said: "We can confirm that there was a small fire outside the Sue Ryder shop in Guiseley, West Yorkshire on Monday, September 12 while the shop was closed overnight. A group of people set fire to our bin, which will cost the charity £400 to replace.

"As the store manager of Sue Ryder I have a valued team of committed volunteers who support the charity to raise valuable funds to enable us to deliver incredible care to our patients. This is the second occasion now in the space of just two months that our bins have been set fire to and this comes at a cost we cannot afford. My own grandmother was cared for at Wheatfields, so I take great pride in raising money to support the charity and don’t want to see that money wasted on something that should never have happened.

"We need to raise over £42.5m each year to provide our care. The money required to replace the two bins could go towards paying for a bed for a day of impatient care at Wheatfields, our local hospice in Headingley.

"The Sue Ryder shop in Guiseley is open as usual and particularly welcomes donations at this time to help us continue to deliver our incredible care in our hospices, neurological centres and in local communities."

Wheatfields Hospice opened more than 35 years ago to care for people living in the North West, West and South of Leeds. The hospice provide end of life care as well as offering emotional and psychological support to patients and their families.

Visit http://www.sueryder.org/donate to find out more about its work.