Shortly after 3am on Wednesday, 23^rd October the burglars struck Kent Wildlife Trust’s Jeffery Harrison Visitor Centre at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve in Bradbourne Vale Road.

The brazen thieves were captured on CCTV entering the car park and getting out of their car before smashing through the front doors of the Visitor Centre, a community hub enjoyed by nature lovers and families. One man, wearing a hooded sweater, climbs through the broken door, quickly grabbing the till in the centre before passing it back to his accomplice waiting outside.

The till contained £100 in cash, but the callous criminals caused around £1,500 worth of damage in the incident.

James Davis, who manages the centre for Kent Wildlife Trust says:

“This is the second burglary we have experienced here this year and incidents like this are costly, both in terms of money lost and staff time. Whilst insurance will cover some of those costs, we have to pay an excess and it also impacts our premiums.

“The centre is a hub for local people who come here to enjoy family days out, bird watching and the nature trails, it is a valuable asset for local people and sadly they have had their visits disrupted whilst we carry out repairs. We are now open again for business and hope to see our regulars back again soon.

“If anyone would like to support us in offsetting some of the cost and disruption of this crime, they can either volunteer or donate to our Nature Nightmares appeal, a funder set up to help us deal with crime and antisocial behaviour on our sites.”

The footage has been passed to Kent Police who are investigating.

Can you help?

If anyone witnessed the incident or has any information that may help police, please contact Kent Police on 01622 604100 quoting reference 23-0263. If anyone wishes to support Kent Wildlife Trust in helping towards the cost of the repairs, they can donate via the Nature Nightmares appeal.

What is a nature nightmare?

The nature nightmares appeal was set up to help Kent Wildlife Trust recoup the cost of cleaning and repairs following antisocial behaviour or criminal activity on their sites. Traditionally as the darker evenings draw in the charity sees a rise in this kind of behaviour on Kent’s precious wildlife sites, costing thousands in staff time and money to rectify.

In the past few weeks problems experienced include terrified cows being chased by teenagers and smashed glass and litter strewn over nature reserves.

In an effort to encourage people to behave responsibly, the charity has created a top five list of things people can do to help keep the county’s countryside safe for wildlife this Halloween and bonfire night:

1. Leave no trace, take your litter home, and clean up after your dog.
2. Don’t discard your Halloween pumpkins in the woodland, they impact the ecosystem and create a big slushy mess.
3. Never have a fireworks party on a nature reserve; it will cause wildlife disturbance and potentially injure the grazing animals on the site.
4. Don’t buy balloons, each year our Wardens clear hundreds of balloons from nature reserves. They pose a serious risk to grazing animals and wildlife.
5. Help Kent Wildlife Trust offset the cost of anti-social behaviour by donating to their Nature Nightmares appeal.