Goa charity couple's burglary heartache

9:29pm Tuesday 22nd April 2008

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A MAN from Clayton-le-Moors hoping to help street children in India has had his charitable efforts ruined after a burglar stole his savings in a raid on his home.

Ken Burrows had saved hundreds of pounds to set up a charity fund for orphans in Goa but lost it all when thieves targeted his former home in Alexander Close, Clayton-le-Moors.

The retired 63-year-old and his wife are now hoping to start again from scratch in a bid to help the youngsters that they have met on their regular trips to the popular tourist destination.

The couple have now moved to Accrington because they could no longer face living in their old home after the burglary and have only now been able to cope with talking about the incident.

Mr and Mrs Burrows were in Goa making inquiries about how best to use the money when their home was broken in to, between February 16 - 20. Thieves threw an axe head through a rear window and then jemmied a floor safe to make off with the cash. Gold jewellery, electrical items and a gold-plated saxophone were also taken.

Mr Burrows said: "On our previous trip to Goa my wife and I came to an agreement that we would do our best to help some of the poor children we had seen. It was just something we wanted to do.

"We had managed to save quite a bit of money. Then on our most recent trip we got a telephone call saying we had been burgled.

"I think the person must have known where the safe was. After that we didn't feel we could stay in the house - it didn't feel like a home any more."

He added: "We really want to help the children so we are not going to give up just because of this."

Det Con Tim Aspinall, Great Harwood CID, said: "This is a terrible thing to happen to a couple who had saved their money for a completely selfless cause. They can no longer do what they wanted to achieve. We hope that someone in the local community may know something about the burglary and we would urge them to come forward."

Anyone with information should contact police on 01254 51212. Anyone wishing to offer help to Mr Burrow's fundraising efforts can do so by contacting the Lancashire Telegraph.