Police sell off burglars' loot to raise cash for charities during the coronavirus crisis

Among the groups to benefit are the city's domestic violence charity MK ACT and the Milton Keynes YMCA>

The Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) for Thames Valley, Anthony Stansfeld, and Chief Constable, John Campbell, opened an emergency round of the Police Property Act Fund (PPAF) to generate the cash.

Jointly managed by the PCC and Chief Constable, the PPAF is created from money recovered by the police and the proceeds from the sale of items that cannot be returned to identified owners, including seizures from criminals.

Ranging from watches and jewelery to perfumes and pedal cycles, the items are frequently sold off via a special Thames Valely Police page on eBay

Now 32 organisations and charities have received funding of between £692 and £8,000 each - a total of £103,740 throughout the Thames Valley area.

PCC Anthony Stansfeld said: “Community and voluntary organisations have been playing a vital role in supporting Thames Valley Police with the emergency response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Both the Chief Constable and I were keen to open this emergency funding round to provide vital grant funds to support their efforts."

Police had invited funding bids from groups impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Mr Stansfeld said: “We were inundated with applications, seeking a total of more than £1m in funding, and I wish we could have supported more of the excellent bids. I look forward to seeing the positive impact that this funding has for the successful applicants and the public.”

Chief Constable John Campbell said: “Both the Police and Crime Commissioner and I are pleased to announce more than £103,000 has been awarded to 32 voluntary and community groups across the Thames Valley. This is the most bids we have ever received for the PPAF and it has been a very difficult task to choose the successful applicants."

He added: “This funding will support projects which have been supporting our response to the outbreak. It is vital that we all work together at a time like this and we hope that the funding will help people across our communities.”

There is set to be another round of PPAF later in the year.