Theatre boss 'humbled' by support after break-in

A theatre boss said she had been "humbled" by an outpouring of public support after the venue was smashed into by burglars.

The Empire Theatre in Halstead was broken into just after 05:00 BST on Saturday and Essex Police are investigating.

Extensive damage to its doors forced it to close this weekend and it had to refund tickets for a children's cinema screening.

"The outpouring of disgust and disappointment from the community is overwhelming," said chairwoman Jo Collis.

"Myself and all my volunteers are truly humbled by the fact that everybody loves the place so very much.

"We had a really big comedy night the previous evening and someone just saw it as a quick win."

An online fundraiser, set up by a local resident, exceeded its £2,000 target in the space of a day.

Ms Collis, who took over as chairwoman of the charity-run theatre in January, said she believed it had been targeted by "opportunists".

Both the glass front doors and internal doors had been smashed at the Butler Road venue, and it was thought the damage would take about a month to repair.

It was not yet known how much the replacements would cost, but Ms Collis believed the work and refunds would run into thousands of pounds.

She said the theatre, described as a "community hub", would reopen in the mean time via its side entrances.

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