IT’S pleasing to know that The Oldham Times is read across the globe.

And we’re even more delighted that our story about the plight of Oldham Foodbank – hit by callous raiders two weeks ago – touched the hearts of those worldwide readers and has resulted in thousands of pounds and new equipment being donated to this wonderful cause.

The manager at the Three Crowns Centre in Manchester Street, Lisa Leunig arrived on Monday morning two weeks ago to find her office had been ransacked and a computer hard drive containing valuable data relating to clients had been stolen, along with three tablets.

Thankfully, that information was password protected, but £200 was also stolen.

All this happened after the foodbank had gone through its busiest time since it opened seven years, with cash-strapped families prevailing on its good work over the Christmas period.

But amazingly, more than £7,000 had been donated at the time of going to press, along with new computer hardware from an anonymous local businessman.

That injection of cash, from far flung corners of the globe in the USA, Switzerland and Malta, will now enable Lisa and her team of dedicated volunteers to step up security at the centre.

As Lisa states, although donations of food are always forthcoming from the eternally generous public of Oldham, hard cash is much more difficult to come by.

Now the centre can undergo a comprehensive upgrade to prevent further break-ins at the centre.

We also hope the individuals how perpetrated this awful crime are brought to justice. Names of potential suspects have been put out on Facebook and Twitter and any leads from these should be thoroughly investigated in our view.