Oldbury charity suffers 'gut-wrenching' second theft of specially-adapted minibuses

• ITV News Central Reporter Lois Swinnerton speaks to Options for Life about the impact of the thefts

A charity in Oldbury dedicated to supporting adults with learning disabilities has been left devastated after the second of its three specially adapted minibuses was stolen in the space of just two months.

Options for Life relies on the buses to take service users on days out, to swimming lessons, and much more.

Staff are now working extra hours to try to fill in the gaps.

These minibuses are lifelines to everyone at Acorn Lodge in Oldbury, where the charity's PMLD (Profound and Multiple Learning Disabilities) centre is based.

Three specially-designed buses were used to transport adults with learning disabilities - but now just one remains.

The latest theft was in the early hours of Friday morning, leaving the charity devastated.

Manager Mandy Critch described the theft as "gut-wrenching."

"I couldn't actually believe it, to have one minibus go is bad enough, but to have another go - it's so devastating for the service, for the participants and the participants' families," she said.

"It really means - you know, it's a lifeline to do anything."

Mandy added the theft was also putting staff under more pressure.

She said: "The staff are heartbroken by what's happened. They're coming in earlier to pick up participants, they're working later to get them home.

"It's gut-wrenching, it really is."

Zoya Majid is a support worker for the charity - and described the burglary as "ridiculous."

She added that the theft has left the charity with "limited resources [so] we can't really do anything."

Another support worker, Ellese Mapp, told ITV News Central that the buses are very difficult to replace.

She said: "It's a struggle, these buses are specifically for these participants, they're specifically for the wheelchairs, and we can't just replace it with a normal bus."

Danielle Holowczak also works for the charity and was first to arrive on both mornings when the buses were stolen.

"It's just really disheartening, I thought, 'it just can't keep happening', like it's not fair," she said.

She added: "They don't see the impact that it has on the guys, it's us who see the impact it has on them, and honestly it's really selfish what [the thieves] are doing, it really is.

"We've got more people in, which means, obviously because everyone can't go out, we're just trying to do as many things as we can to make the guys just have fun and do what we would normally do without impacting them fully."

After being targeted on two separate occasions, the charity now fears their last remaining bus could be next to go.

"I'm absolutely terrified the next one's gonna go because that could actually close us. You know, we've got 22 participants who absolutely depend on our service," Mandy said.

The charity now has to wait up to 18 months for a new minibus to be specially made for them.

In the meantime, Options for Life is trying to raise £12,000 to hire a replacement one to ensure they can continue delivering vital services to these adults who rely so heavily on them.

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